This job rocks
Joined a fund recently, my PM is a good and reasonable dude, I like my coverage area, I have autonomy on how to do my work/process, I have settled into a nice routine with gym and cooking food for the week, it is intellectually stimulating, and there is close to 0 bullshit in that you are either right or wrong.
This is SO much better than private markets or corporate it is INSANE. Is it hard yes definitely but can’t believe more people aren’t clamoring for this job.
It can be nice. It can also suck. I would doubt you'd be in such a cushy seat if your pod/PM blew up. HF, IME, is the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
The first 6-12 month honeymoon period is really something
Yes exactly but some of the structural parts about how you organize your life around the job are much more conducive to living a healthier life than is the case with deal work, that’s probably the biggest point I have
Jokes aside, this is a great mindset to have as you start. Have a healthy life outside of work... and try to protect your boundaries too (to the extent you can of course). That's something I wish I would have done when I started... those built in healthy habits will be so useful when you will face the rough parts of this job and will need an outlet to keep yourself sane.
100% agree. It's why I pursued research out of undergrad.
Until PIP hits ya...
10 years in, still rocks. Sometimes industry sucks (many firms / PMs) but the job is still fun
This.
Yeah, but most PMs are not lol
Next post from OP:
I just met the most incredible girl. I think she’s the one. We never fight, have tons of great sex 3x a day, and she’s super chill and low maintenance. If this is how good the first month of our relationship has been, I can’t even imagine how much better it’s going to get from here.
Can’t believe more people haven’t been clamoring to date her.
What type of fund? MM, SM, LO?
issue is when you're behind on P&L
Ya it’s great until you lose money then it’s awful. But that’s the rub with public markets. You’re completely right though that the amount of BS vs pe or corporate is night and day. That part was really refreshing
Please update us on your feelings in a year when your PM gets fired
Happy for you, culture fit w PM is never guaranteed
Wait a couple years. You need to save while the going is good in this industry.
It’s good when it’s good and bad when it’s bad. Kinda like an abusive relationship
First time?
This is true and the right attitude to have. If you have the capacity for the volume of work, and you find it interesting, it really is the perfect job.
You say the structure of the work is more conducive to a healthy life -- I'd caveat that a bit:
Even though there are fewer and more consistent hours, the intensity/stress during working hours + how difficult it is to truly switch off = real burnout risk, even if you in theory have a decent amount of "rest" time. That's the only thing I'd be aware of.
Finding a good PM is far and wide the most important factor in early/mid hf career development. In my earlier years ive seen both sides of the coin, if you haven't experienced the bad, dont take your current setup for granted!
I'd also agree with others, that finding a good PM is somewhat rare. One piece of advice I'd give to people in the transition phase (to either analyst/trader/apm), is to know what your skillset is, and what the PMs style is.
I cant speak for pods > 5-6 people, but generally, if you try to find a PM to work under that is a 'rockstar' or has bounced around shops every 1-2y, you'll likely find poor career EV + high variance + the ego that can come with huge success.
This is why fund/pm matter so much. If you are under a stable PM and strategy life is great. If you are at a pod with high volatility, then its extreme highs and lows.
This is true up to a point.. perhaps I over emphasized that having a great PM / mentor is great, but it is also such a meritocracy. As long as you have a year or longer horizon to settle in, and prove yourself, blaming a bad PM for your career path ultimately becomes your fault, after enough time has passed.
anyone who is smart / hungry / killer mentality will find a home / seat, especially if you blend that with good networking. Given the high cost of acquiring talent, almost all funds are more than happy to teach those that show they actually love the game and competing.
Tbf - early career it's very much PM dependent imo. Most of what you learn will come from the PMs you work for early on and if they're not very good or don't provide good mentorship then it makes your life 100x harder. Of course you can work your way out of it, but then at that point you might as well apply that hunger to another path with fewer roadblocks
What's your benchmark? Banking? Ok fine.
The hedge fund life: edges sharpen daily, bullshit evaporates, and your P&L doesn't lie. Until you're down 10%
You must be good if they keep you until -10
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