Feeling burnt out before even starting IB...should I target a new career path?
I just got home from my summer internship, and feeling very down atm. I've been firmly targeting IB recruitment ever since I got to college and honestly starting to question everything. My dad worked at UBS for 20+ years and has really done well there, so this path has basically been laid out for me since middle school. I go to a semi target school, and have a corp finance internship that my dad helped me get after freshman year summer at a F500. I'm also maintaining a 3.2 GPA, so I'm in a pretty good spot.
But man, am I feeling burnt out. I am doing simple Excel tasks at work, and I hate every minute of it. The IB networking is killing me, and my dad has pushed me hard to start early and network aggresively. No one responds on LinkedIn, and I signed up for IBContacts but it also hasn't helped. I've sent probably 95+ cold emails over the past few months and maybe gotten 8 responses back. Of those, only 6 turned into actual calls. The worst part is even when I do get on calls, they feel so pointless. Like I'm going through the motions asking about their "path to banking" and "day in the life" when we both know why I'm really there.
The pressure from home is real too. Every family dinner turns into "how's your internship going" and my dad dropping names of IB people I should reach out to. Been having trouble sleeping thinking about how I'm already exhausted and I haven't even stepped foot in an actual investment bank yet. Like if I can barely handle basic excel, sending cold emails and doing coffee chats without wanting to throw my laptop out a window...how am I supposed to survive 100 hour weeks?
I keep telling myself this is just temporary, that once I break in it'll all be worth it. But lately I've been wondering...what if it's not? What if I'm just forcing myself down this path because it's all I've ever known? Main question is...does everyone in IB just work through the burnout, or if I'm already feeling burnout, should I just not do it?
If you’re already feeling burned out doing the basic tasks then maybe IB isn’t for you. I feel like on this journey if you’re not getting excited or optimistic about the basics tedious task then imagine how you’ll feel when you actually break in. You only have one life so choose what’s best for you in the end. Best Regards
Idk if a 3.2 from a semi is getting you in the door anyways. Maybe your dad can help you out but otherwise, maybe it’s a sign.
3.2 from a semi-target is still solid. OP, I spent a lot of my early 20s hopping around, trying to figure out what I really wanted, I totally get it. I started in IB, really burned out from the hours and intense culture, then moved to corporate development, following a brief stent in consulting. What was sad was that I really like my corporate development job, but unfortunately during the big tech correction in 2024 I lost my job, but that gave me a lot of perspective and realize that I really liked entrepreneurship and being able to start my own business. And now I love my life so much and every day is better than the last. Unless you’re dead set on private equity or HF are so many opportunities out finance, wealth management, private banking, FP&A, CPA, etc.. if talking to someone would make you feel any better please don’t hesitate to reach out
Not to derail the conversation but 3.2 gpa coming from a semi-target is not solid at all.
But aside from that solid advice
comment duplicated by mistake
This life aint for you dawg
dude it feels like the reason you feel this way is more so because of your father's pressure than anything else. a lot of us just network and do all this shit because we actually want to. and nobody is holding it over our heads all the time. you got daddy issues bro
second above comment -- seems that you are doing this just to make your parents happy, which is completely fair, but this job will burn you out very quickly if you have 0 interest in actually doing it (your job will be mindless excel and PPT work for most of the time).
just tell ya dad how you are feeling about your internship / IB, and see how that convo goes. sure he might be disappointed (he shouldn't be) for a bit, but he will and should respect your choices. but also maybe spend some time to reflect on what you are actually interested in doing.
Reprehenderit voluptates cupiditate occaecati illum vel fugit nisi. Aut numquam facere illo vero voluptas corrupti.
Ipsam molestiae repellendus maxime placeat nam. Harum ducimus ullam quia aut odio ratione veniam et. Dolores sed beatae dolores iste non fugiat perferendis maxime.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...