First year analyst, still feel incompetent and like I haven’t learned anything
Started as a first-year analyst (GS/MS/JPM) this past summer in a coverage group working remotely for most of the time. People talk about the typical ramp-up period for analysts but I feel like I haven’t gotten that yet. Even though it’s been 6 months I feel like I’ve learned nothing about corporate finance and modeling as I’ve just been editing Powerpoints and doing bitch work for 90 hours a week.
Is this normal or a byproduct of WFH? Should I be more outspoken about wanting to get more technical exposure? My concern is I’m already staffed up on things that fill up all my time but 90% of the work is in PPT, and while I’d love to get more technical experience I don’t want to get over-staffed.
Am I the only one who’s had this problem?
Relax there isn't "technical exposure" you arent going to program a self driving car. You are at worst missing out on making a bull shit illustrative lbo with made up inputs that no one really takes seriously anyways. Just keep going you will be ok.
😂😂 That's what bankers DO! Mindless "bitch work for 90 hours a week." You thought you were going to be building space ships? Especially when you're at a coverage group that outsources its modeling to the product guys? LOL. Congratulations my friend, you're a fucking "Investment Banker." This is now going to be your life every fucking week until you leave, die, or retire. You make sure to go back to your alma mater and tell those hardos at the SMIFs that this is the same life awaiting them when they graduate.
Also at BB and agree 100%. If someone asked me to build a DCF I would probably shit myself (that’s how little technical exposure I have) and similarly am so busy on other things that I don’t really have time to learn it myself. Wondering if Associates etc realize this is happening?
Hey can you build a DCF? Need it for 10pm tonight, tx
I see a lot of this same sentiment on WSO all the time, that IB work is essentially editing PowerPoints all day long. If that's the case, why are the interviews typically so technical and why is it so difficult to become an IB analyst? Surely at some point before becoming a senior Banker you're doing more analysis and actually utilizing all the knowledge of financial statements etc?
I'm in wealth management but I've been working on gaining the skills i need to make the transition to corporate finance for a while and from what I see it's either "you're pretty much just doing PowerPoint presentations all day" or "you have a ton of Excel, be prepared to answer a variety of technical questions etc etc" so is it one or the other? Both? Does it depend on the company you work for?
if you're willing to memorize 100's of technical answers that you don't actually need to know + have a good gpa you're probably willing to be someone's bitch for 90 hours a week. At least that's how I imagine them thinking of us.
Also a first year Analyst at a BB that has gotten relatively little technical exposure until recently. When it comes to modeling, I honestly feel like I have no clue what I'm doing. My Associates and VPs assume that I've already had modeling experience before but I'm at a loss and unsure of who to turn to for help. Ordinarily, I would take it upon myself to learn the ins and outs of the model but I'm already doing 95+ hour weeks. The other Analysts and Associates are in the same boat so I'm hesitant to ask them for too much help as I don't want to add to their workload.
I feel like WFH has been a major impediment to the typical learning curve and I'm not sure whether I should try to wait this out and see if these skills come to me over time or just switch careers now. Would definitely appreciate some advice from other people on here who have been or are going through similar experiences.
I literally feel like a summer analyst. Whenever there is a model or something complicated, it's like I am a silent observer on the email chain and calls. Obviously I am trying to follow what's happening and learn but it is not nearly the same as actually working on something.
Speaking of incompetence, does anyone else feel like even in ppt and lighter stuff like comps they are still lagging? Or is it just me? My attention to detail has sharpened up for sure but it still feels like every time I am given a task like "Make X slide" I end up conceptually getting it wrong. Even when I ask for old examples, essentially replicate them, and have my associate review it. Is this just a normal MD thing? Makes me feel like even the stuff I should be able to do and is "easier" than modeling I am messing up.
I wonder if my MDs get that I have not been exposed to that kind of work (and no one is teaching me) so that's why I end up sitting most of those tasks out/make technical mistakes when helping, or if I just suck. Is it possible to be fired for being perceived as an incompetent analyst? At this point I am actually worried.
Haha I’m a CS major & spent a summer at a BB. I was so afraid of ‘modeling’, thought it was gonna be harder than coding... until I realized it was data entry into a template and random assumptions. Industry is total BS