Are all your sacrifices worth it?
I'm a rising sophomore at college (in USA) having a hard time deciding whether to pursue IB or not. If I do, I plan to do 2 yrs in IB and then move to the buy side.
On the one hand, the salary will allow me to repay debt and finance my family. However, I'm afraid this is a path I will get burnt out easily.
Background:
I'm an international student raised in a poor family. Right now, my uncle is funding my tuition, which I'll have to repay the debt in the future.
To those in the industry / that've been in the industry, what are your views upon this industry? I know the pay and exit opps are great but are all the sacrifices worth it? Are there alternative careers you'd suggest? (I'm considering mgmt consulting if I decide against IB but atm, i am still open to other options).
Someone in the office gave COVID and the other intern with me told me to "Google it" when I asked for help, so take from that what you wish.
Nice
Honestly as someone who came from extreme poverty, the sacrifices are worth it to give my family a better life that we only dreamed about back when we all slept on a basement floor on a shit mattress on top of cinder blocks. At times things can be frustrating and I want to quit and just have a chill life where I can have more free time, this is very normal and I been very close to calling it quits multiples times.
What always keeps me going is remembering why I even decided to make the sacrifice in the first place, the people that I do it for and how much better I can make their lives if I just keep pushing, learning and climbing. As an analyst you make great money but it’s not enough to be able to financially take care of all the needs of your family and this is something that life keeps reminding me when I feel bad that I can’t do more than a few hundreds dollars a month.
I dream for the day that I can buy my mom a house, the day I can be able to pay all her bills and spoil her without feeling any financial constraints. Following the safe finance route gives me the chance to be able to accomplish these goals, as I’m guaranteed to make a certain amount of money if I’m able to stick it out. Yes, there are many other paths to making money but I like finance and as a risk adverse person, I want to play it safe as I can’t afford to fail at this stage.
It’s also not all about the money (a lot of it is money though), it’s also about how much I’m learning and the exposure that I’m getting to companies and industries. Thinking back four years ago when I was working in the back room of an apartment building, I would never have imagined being able to get this type of exposure.
Anyways, we all have our reasons for why we got into the industry. My advice would be to find your whys and if you really want to go the finance route which can be grueling at times, keep your whys as a reminder of where you came from and why you need to keep pushing and making sacrifices. For me the sacrifices are worth it, as it allows my loved ones and especially my mother to have a life that they never had but that she so deserves.
Thank you for sharing, this really inspired and resonated with me. Congratulations on your achievements. It must feel nice, being able to reciprocate your family's kindness. I wish to be that person soon too. However, the only factor restraining me from pursuing the path is the risk of health. Lastly, if you don't mind me asking, what plans do you have from now on?
Realistically you aren’t going to die from working in finance. Sure your health might not be best during it but it’s not like everyone who does finance is now borderline close to their death bed.
There are always ways to maximize the amount of rest that you are getting. Call me boring but I sleep with my girlfriend before 11pm on Friday and Saturday and we both feel well rested and better throughout the week (basically catch up on sleep when you can).
It’s also not going to be hell every week, there are weeks where I was very very busy and other weeks where I probably worked less than 6 hours total (of actual work) in a week. You will be fine health wise but just be conscious of the life style that you are living and try to mitigate the harm of working long hours with proper rest and care when possible (sometimes it won’t be but those are the hard weeks where you have to remember yours whys) .
Long term, I don’t see myself staying in finance forever as I always wanted a more help build something/help growth something type of job. Im using these total 4 years to A. Maximize my learning B. Increase my safety net C. Maximize my brand. I have been fortunate enough to have met some great people that have mentored me in finance and some other people that are offering mentorship once I’m ready to take the riskier route of helping build something.
So long term, I don’t see myself in finance but things could change but in the what’s after baking & buy-side I do see myself taking a small risk and betting on myself once I have a safety net that I can fall back on.
Worth every penny. While I may die at 45, my kids, wife, and her future husband will live happily ever after.
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