Anyone else hate finance?

Then find something that you are genuinely interested in or work in ib for one yr and then dip

I don't think anyone spends their free time studying finance like it's a video game or their favorite sport. But as long as it's stimulating enough where you can become good at it, I feel like it's fine. I don't know many people who would spend their free time outside of work ardently studying concepts relating to their industry.Also, i think it's generally true that the better you become at something, the more satisfying it becomes. Maybe you'll find that the more you develop your skills the more you'll come to feel satisfied with and maybe even enjoy your work

Yes, contrary to what is posted here, I genuinely spend a decent chunk of my free time studying financial economics, that is the entire reason I broke into the industry.

I love economics, it is both a social science and a hard science. It's subtly interwoven into the history of nations and really humanity as a whole, and it is full of interesting concepts that result from human beings being emotional, irrational animals. I am just a nerd. Reading the latest research on seasonality models and how the cycles of nature drive the ebb and flow of capital markets is something I find exciting. It's not my whole life, but I genuinely enjoy finance on an intellectual level.

For many it is extremely boring, but I think you have to look past the surface level to see the profound implications within it. It is hidden in the details. Beneath all the seemingly boring facts and figures is a system that effectively directs human civilization in this era of global capitalism. I spent a good chunk of my life in Washington D.C., and after witnessing the sheer level of corruption in this very old, so-called "political machine", I firmly believe that Wall Street is a far more powerful entity.

If you want to get excited about financial economics or really economics as a whole, you have to read between the lines and see how it connects to the world around it.

I think that there are parts of finance and IB that are extremely interesting. I find it interesting to understand how industries and companies work, what drives value in companies, trends in the market etc. I also really enjoy investing and trying to find something that the broader market has not found or understood (I am wrong most of the time). IB has its moments when you get to listen in on calls with CEOs explaining the company and industry dynamics or listen to an MD describing the value drivers in a deal. Unfortunately, +95% of the work in IB is very mundane and not interesting at all. This is especially true as juniors are never required to think about these things on their own. We always require clear instructions from above about how to think about a deal, which factors to push etc. I just view my time in IB as something I need to do in order to break into PE where you actually get to spend more time working with the above-mentioned things that I find interesting.

Recently met a PE PortCo COO who had IB/PE experience before entering his current role. He finds his job way more meaningful now (he found finance boring). I didn't ask him but he definitely has a legitimate equity stake and I believe the PE firm holding his company might be selling it soon. Not even 35 yet and he will likely get a $2M+ payday. His company is also super interesting and could be a gamechanger/home run in the long term. Way more disciplined than high flying startups. His product is one of the best I've seen in his tech sector.

Also learned about a somewhat young grad from my MBA program (early 40s) who worked in finance specific roles for 3-5 years right after the 08 crash. Left as a 3rd year associate for a fast growing company for a role focusing on bus dev/acquisitions. Eventually joined his boss's family office after the company exited (his boss became very wealthy, made ~$500M on a multibillion dollar exit). A year or two later, left and created his own company. Recently sold it for ~$300M and from what I heard from my school, his equity stake netted him $100M+. Surprisingly enough, we do have a billionaire alum whose in their 50s and has held finance roles at the tech company he cofounded (funny enough he didn't major in that during his MBA).

I think finance is a great stepping stone for budding entrepreneurs. To answer the original question, I know way more people who left finance by their mid 30s than those who actually stayed. I'm sure a large part of that is due to burnout and not liking finance anymore.

Posted a similar thing recently - https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/anyone-else-ju…;

Long story short, you're not alone. It's a means to an end.