~~~The Last Frontier~~~
For those in the know, and it might not be good to be in the know, there's something called the hedonic treadmill, and we're all pretty much chained to it.. and now you're in the know, regardless.
Say you're in high school and your dream school is the University of Michigan. You wear Wolverine gear every day as a senior wishing and hoping you get in. You think and pray, "My life will be complete and I'm gonna be set if I get into UMich." You get in, and it's good for a while, but then you learn about the Ross School of Business and you're like MY LIFE IS GOING TO BE OVER IF I DON'T GET INTO ROSS. You end up getting in and it's good for a while, and you comfort your freshmen friends who cry and think their lives are over after they get their rejections. Now you're a junior and looking for internships, going through the hell that is recruiting. You're stressed out as fuck, dealing with school, extracurriculars, and this shit at the same time and you think if I just get this internship, if I just get Goldman, I'm gonna be set for life.
That's me, sans the Goldman. I'm wondering if getting a good internship is The Last Frontier or The Big Break, so to speak, or just another "step" on the treadmill, ultimately destined to lead into more insecurity? Let's assume that getting an internship equates to a full-time offer (I know it doesn't). The big difference here, as opposed to the previous examples, is that I'd actually be making money for the first time. Substantial, $60k/yr+ money, all for myself.
Anyone have thoughts, wisdom, or experience on the matter? Do you feel like your A+ internship was like a Last Frontier? What if you miss getting it, do you fall from grace? What's the big picture here? How does one get off the treadmill? Has anyone tried?
:(
The world isn't over if you don't get an amazing internship for the summer. There are plenty of other things you can do to get a great job. It's all relative. Once you make it to that great job, you'll want a better job that pays more, or another job where you do something slightly more interesting.
I'm in the exact same boat and would like to know as well.
It's definitely not when you have an internship offer, because you need to make sure you get the FT offer.
As an analyst, all you'll be thinking about is getting to the buy-side.
Once you're there, all you'll be thinking about is obtaining credibility.
Once you're at the top of the buy-side latter, all you'll be thinking about is not pissing off the client.
I think it's safe to say that we're never complacent, because there's always something to complain about. I think the best thing to do is just get in, make a lot of money, and get out as fast as possible.
I recently signed with a BB for an IBD SA and I can wholeheartedly say that while I am really glad I got the position I am unhappy now as not much has changed in terms of my day to day life. If anything I realized just how much of my life I focused on getting a summer analyst position only to realize it's not the end all I thought it was.
Your life is way more than the sum of the lines on your resume.
The above guy is right. Once you get the FT offer then shit gets real and you realise how unimportant it was, in reality. The only thing is you know you're not ending up like half the kids on the street you grew up in: at 28 you're living with your parents and only doing part-time work.
I know that treadmill… First, I wanted to be accepted at my university. Got it. Then, I wanted to be elected to participate in an exchange program in Hong Kong. Got it. After that, I wanted a job in financial consulting. Got it. Finally, I wanted to land a job in a MBB. That’s when I was rejected and all my life seemed to be collapsed. I had a real bad time because of this. This was almost a year ago and I continue thinking stuff like “just if I prepared my interviews better…”. Nowadays, I want a job in AM… let’s see how this ends…
it never ends bro...
It never ends until you decide it has. Once you get out there, you'll be striving for that promotion (or whatever) and when you get it, you realize that nothing has really changed. Your family doesn't think of you differently, nor do your real friends. Happiness is something you have some control over.
It is certain that getting an internship is not the one piece of the puzzle that will make your life complete.
Good question OP..While I would agree that it never ends completely, I have now had an internship, FT offer, switched into IB, and then promoted to Associate, and I will say nothing has given me the exultant relief of that first offer letter as a college senior ready to pay me a living wage. Once you are able to pay your bills and live comfortably, it is up to you to decide when to "jump off the hamster wheel".
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