Beginning to Panic About Starting Full-Time...
For context, I signed an offer to work full-time for the bank I interned at (virtually) this past summer. I have always been very gung-ho about going into banking, without fully weighing the difficulty of working an average of 90hrs/wk, and the toll that has on your physical and mental health. I will be joining a bank that is known for being extremely sweaty. I was able to manage the summer internship based on willpower alone, but I know once I join as an Analyst, the amount of responsibility will double (at least) and I'm not sure I can survive on willpower for 2 years straight.
In short, I signed a full-time offer at a sweatshop because it was the best thing in front of me during the pandemic, and now I'm fuckin panicking about whether or not I will be able to survive. It would be easier to get over the imminent destruction of my life if I were getting amazing exit opps from this, but from what I can tell, the exit opps from this group are not what I am looking for. I'm seriously considering dropping it in the interest of mental health and trying to find something else. Would this be completely ridiculous or am I right to be scared to death of this job?
You are being ridiculous. Your stress is mostly disconnected from the job itself. You are just generally unsure about your Future, which is fine.
Amount of work will increase but so will your efficiency. Go there and see how it go. You will be surprised how much you can do once you’ve started. Good news is after you’ve had your first 100h weeks, normal weeks won’t look as bad - you will almost see them as relaxing
This, remember the first 2 months (post training) are the hardest. Yes, you’ll have bad weeks but eventually the work will be mindless and you can crank while listening to music or a podcast.
also, no bank is bad as people make it sound. My friend at Moelis works 80-85 hours a week so take that as you will
Thanks guys, I needed this. Think I'm just overreacting.
Although when I say sweatshop, I really mean it. Even in that scenario, do you think that is sustainable for at least 2 years? I don't want to come out of this as a psychotic, emaciated shell of a human.
How bad is sweatshop... it can’t possibly be that bad
I suspect OP is in BMO metals and mining
I think you should go in with a list of priorities that you cannot flex, mental and physical health being two important ones. The first few months may be brutal, but as you ramp up your skills and build a rep with your team you'll have more flexibility to manage these. Banking is tough wherever you are, and if exit opps are not available at a group you aren't happy with you could consider lateralling or leaving the industry completely; however, worrying about this now adds no value and you should evaluate once you've been in your seat for a while.
I'm feeling the same way right now and I find it nuts that bankers work so much and I don't know if that's something I can sustain for even two years. There are a few "day in the life" videos from actual investment bankers that might be helpful. Linking two below from Youtubers who are both actual investment bankers to get a sense of what it might look like but frankly I'm still unsure
https://youtu.be/55PHF73K9tABanking is not nearly as bad as all the softies on this forum make it out to be. Yeah you work from 9am-11 most nights, but really, what were you going to be doing anyways on a weekday after work? Playing warzone with your boys? You'll still have time to go out on Friday nights and most saturdays and chase skirt like the rest of us. Nothing you can't power through for a few years. I was just as worried before I joined banking, sure it's daunting, but it's easy to forget how quickly we can adapt and things will feel normal. Remember how we all used to wake up at 6:30am for middle school? Felt normal, you just get used to it man.
What type of bank are you at? My shop analysts consistently work till 2am+ multiple days a week and are lucky to get out on a Friday before 10pm.
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