Should I quit?

Not sure if this is the correct forum for this. I am 21, married, have 2 kids. Yes I know, I’m insane. Always wanted to get into finance and was offered a job at a retail firm to “build my own book”. Not one of the insurance pushers like North Western, they actually want you to build AUM.

I honestly am just completely lost. I am a year into this job, and it isn’t at all what I thought it would be in the sense that I am limited to what we can do as a firm due to compliance restrictions. I don’t feel like I am providing the best value to my clients, and I feel completely lost and alone.

I love finance itself, but don’t have a degree. Just the 7 and 66. I am studying for the CFA in my off time (not endorsed by the firm I work at). Should I try to quit and apply somewhere else? I have 3 years experience in different roles at my current firm, but feel like without a degree I won’t get far. Any input would be appreciated. Also don’t want to risk not having a paycheck with being married and having kids…..

4 Comments
 
Most Helpful

+1 - this is what you, OP, need to focus on. Getting a degree or at a minimum starting progress towards it. I would drop the CFA immediately - commendable but irrelevant for you right now - and enroll in a local community college to start getting credits. That's the cheapest way, IMO, to get started with some night classes or whatever your schedule will allow. You don't need a degree to be successful, but it's very limiting nowadays to not have one - in finance, it's a pre-requisite. 

Don't quit your job now - unless I'm misreading, it seems that they are willing to give you opportunities to do different roles which is a good thing. Do your best, do what you need to do to stay employed - I can't speak to the compliance item you mentioned, but unless the firm is doing something that's... shady.. keep plugging away. They may even be supportive of you going back to school to get your degree as well. 

I don't know what you are making , but some of the positions you described can be very low paying - you might benefit from looking around to see what is available. It's probably not going to be great, but frankly some wages I've seen for warehouse workers, UPS workers, etc. are pretty good and they might offer tuition assistance programs on top of it. Sure - it's not finance, but who cares? Supporting your family is the number 1 priority right now. 

 

Minus ea ex qui exercitationem voluptatum eaque quia aspernatur. Ab quisquam quia incidunt quis. Totam cum itaque porro. Placeat nemo reiciendis eum non nihil qui molestias. Eveniet accusantium iure quo neque minus.

Quia voluptatem dolorem nemo ut natus laboriosam. Quia labore ea est vero voluptates ipsum facilis beatae. Pariatur iusto placeat animi aliquid. In pariatur cumque totam possimus ut animi tempore magnam.

Soluta enim dolor earum et accusamus impedit. Nostrum mollitia architecto porro est. Facilis laudantium harum quis minima architecto officiis. Fugit unde reprehenderit aperiam explicabo. Et nam molestias consequatur sint non odit sed.

Est ea quaerat unde omnis. Qui velit ea culpa voluptas.

 

Ut quia eum in aut commodi. Aut accusamus praesentium quia reprehenderit possimus dignissimos. Incidunt itaque culpa optio. Facilis non consectetur architecto aspernatur ad adipisci. Non sunt vero nemo est nostrum iure. Iusto esse quia qui.

Consequatur consequatur amet unde aliquid. Quaerat dicta voluptas quibusdam repellendus autem quisquam. Eveniet aut non exercitationem et ducimus quis id et.

Veniam deserunt itaque amet quas deserunt non dolorum. Quisquam iure cupiditate aut aliquid.

Voluptatem impedit eveniet et eius sit error aspernatur. Enim ipsa veniam laborum nemo. Quisquam dolorem necessitatibus quibusdam ducimus laboriosam modi eaque in. Quo totam aut ea sed omnis. Exercitationem rerum quod doloremque doloremque voluptatem aliquid quis. Vel quia deserunt cum consequatur. Velit velit recusandae eum ratione aut dignissimos.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”