Anyone else just not care about finance?
Just gone A2A and I'm finally admitting to myself that I just don't care about finance. I'm not sure I ever have, but I didn't realise that until I'd gone too far down the IB path. Then I got sucked in by the money and sense of prestige.
I can do the work, I'm not stupid, although I'm never going to be the most technical one in the team. However, I fundamentally don't care about super niche tax impacts or random WACC adjustments. I have no desire to get into a discussion with someone about the validity of our financing assumptions.
Anyone else in the same boat? Any advice on a path forward from here?
I'm currently coasting along in the associate role, lucky enough to be working with good analysts who want to take on the technical work. I feel like a bit of a fraud by I get by. I do kind of enjoy the more big picture, industry focused side of the job so I'm thinking of looking into strategy roles or or VC/growth, but really uncertain what to do.
Hope u don't mind the annoying intern question. I'm sure u had to be pretty good at finance and like it somewhat to get in, let alone make A2A? So how did that all work out? What did u major in at school?
In hindsight, how would someone know if they would fundamentally like finance?
No worries. I'd say it comes down to the fact that it's possible to be good at something without enjoying it. Plus the level of finance you actually need to know in order to get the internship, and then convert it, isn't really that hard. Memorise the WSO technicals guide and that will cover 95% of interview questions.
In terms of actually being on the job, couple of factors come in. Same point as above - the vast majority of the technical work we do is a slightly different version of the same DCF/LBO/merger model template. I can handle these easily, I don't find it interesting but I can do it. I'm also good at the rest of the job - process work, proactivity, reliability, attention to detail, all that stuff. And ultimately, you don't need to be incredible to go A2A, you just need to not be completely crap.
I studied econ at school.
The only advice I'd give in hindsight is to really think about what options are out there and not just go with the easiest path or the one that everyone else is doing. Question whether you are doing something because you truly want to, or because that's what you think you should be doing. I always say that to our interns who get return offers. It's a weird one because I don't really regret the years I spent in IB, I have genuinely learnt a lot, both on the technical side but also soft skills, ability to work long hours under pressure, that kind of thing. It's easy for me to say now that I shouldn't have gone into IB straight out of undergrad but would I really have been happier doing something else? Who knows.