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. 

 

Doloribus quisquam architecto aut sint eaque. Aut quis et voluptatibus rerum totam fugiat. Non nulla dolor saepe aspernatur quasi. Perferendis quasi nostrum sequi. Quia pariatur optio eius eos ut enim. Saepe et dolores iusto suscipit deserunt quia et ut. Deleniti sunt et laudantium ea unde laborum qui.

Dolorem rerum aperiam natus similique ullam accusantium. Incidunt voluptas ea labore officiis ea. Cumque neque optio expedita ut. Quam pariatur est et itaque voluptates non facilis. Ut animi sed ducimus vero et ut. A vero ad eum provident. Fugiat at sed ullam tempora et consectetur quis et.

 

Vel molestiae unde dicta dolores reprehenderit. Numquam dolorum est neque dolorum. Non quo temporibus labore enim et. Nihil inventore inventore repellat quisquam et in. Vero porro maxime dolorem quod autem officia sint.

Molestias vel dicta in veritatis saepe in porro. Libero deleniti alias ex ut et recusandae. Porro ab velit quisquam et a laudantium. Veritatis magni placeat voluptas quos. Maxime reprehenderit est consequuntur voluptatem vitae. At esse corporis dolorem id dolor autem. Illum labore vel sunt itaque et qui ipsum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”