Decided to leave last month because banking was literally taking over my life. Was from a top group at an EB but, two years is a really long time (even one year is) and I don't want to be wasting it being unhappy/stressed and getting fat/unhealthy.
It was a tough decision and it took me a while to decide. Wanted to know if there are others like me out there? So far, no regrets.
| +244 | Return Rates For Interns Are Falling? | 104 | 2h |
| +131 | UBS Americas IB: The Kids’ Table of Wall Street | 18 | 8h |
| +111 | I am a drunk MD AMA | 39 | 18h |
| +64 | VP Lifestyle at Top BB Coverage Groups | 40 | 1d |
| +60 | UBS Offer Day | 23 | 8h |
| +57 | An Outsider’s View of RX Banking Out of College | 6 | 4d |
| +50 | SharePoint makes IB hours HELL | 15 | 4d |
| +42 | Article: Why UBS's Asian M&A bankers are thriving and UBS's American M&A bankers are not | 6 | 3h |
| +40 | WF Return offers | 27 | 2h |
| +34 | No return offer - feeling like a failure is an understatement | 14 | 9h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Sounds good, good for you. What's your plan going forward? Have you pursued anything else, and if yes, how's it going?
Left without a job lined up which I would generally recommend against but I was getting crushed and with RTO, I found it difficult to recruit
Not sure what to do going forward but I’ll figure it out
Good luck man - A lot of ppl are in the same boat
Did you leave cold or with another job set up?
Left cold.
respect.. i wish i had the guts to do this
Quitting as a first year with nothing lined up?
You could have slowly done mediocre work while interviewing.
Hope you have rich parents to float you in case you don’t find anything for a few months.
Can we just ban this guy off the forum at this point? Seriously. I pray to God for the poor souls that have to work under you.
Imagine the people who frequent the forum like this high school kid.
i say how dumb it is to quit a job as a young person without another job at least lined up, and he suggest to ban me.
i pray my kids don’t turn out with this persons logic and work ethic.
1. Not in HS or college
2. No, it's an amalgamation of all your awful takes on this site, but then again I'm like 90% convinced you're just another troll that we've had many of over the years...
Don’t move the goalposts. You commented on this thread where someone quit with nothing lined up and not making it to his first year.
And I said quitting without a job or even an interview lined up isn’t wise. And you said that take was so bad I should be banned.
Then instead of addressing that point, you say oh it has to do with all my other posts.
Of course you won’t address the thread, but I’ll ask again to drive my point home.
Why is advising a young person to not quit without another job or interview lined up such a terrible view?
I'm sure that he will starve on the streets with his year of IB and a degree likely from a prestigious university.
This. Quitting before a year without anything lined up is a terrible move, especially for someone who was hardworking/intelligent enough to get to an EB. If the work was that bad that you couldnt handle even a few months more, then that’s on you for not knowing what you were going into
How did you feel after some time off? You mentioned never feeling happier, how has this manifested?
Congratulations on making a challenging decision and may a better and brighter future await you!
wow, bold. Scary, but bold. Did you give two weeks notice? How did the team take it?
same here! curious to know how your team reacted.
I'm scared ill find myself in the same situation and just quit to make job seeking easier.
Shocked and just bombarding me with question why but ultimately respected my decision. 2 weeks notice.
I left right at 1 year mark from BB group. Left to join Series A startup and couldn't be happier. Working 1/2 as much with much higher base in low COL city. Best decision ever.
Really? Making higher base than BB in low COL city for a startup? Seems like an anomaly . I thought any startup would offer you less base (with higher potential upside in stock)... but especially in a low COL city? How'd you manage a 120k salary at a startup one year out of BB?
Not saying 100% of startups are the same, but certainly not an anomaly based on my experience here. We pay top 1% wages and are still losing hires to other startups paying more. With how frothy the VC market is, it is much preferred to overpay and have the best possible talent vs. reducing burn marginally. I interviewed quite a few places and found a good fit. I maybe got lucky that they had been trying to fill my role for a while, but I don't make substantially more than other people at my company. I am expecting a raise and bonus here in the next few months and still have substantial equity upside. IB was a great place to get a lot of experience quickly, learn a valuable skill set, and grow professionally but the difference in work I am doing now is 100% different. Every day I feel like I am driving change and actually making an impact. I missed out on my bonus for this opportunity, but haven't thought about it once since I left. The ability to sleep 8 hours every night, work out, go on vacation, WFH when I want to, and enjoy the work I am doing is worth leaving even if i had taken a much lower salary. In fact, I had already decided that I was leaving before I even saw the number on my offer letter - As long as it was a wage I could live off it was worth being back in control of my life. Imo much more meaningful to make $$$ on my "own terms" vs. following a path that so many have traveled before
I wish we saw that shit here with SUs and VCs, the base is normally ass so whatever this dude found is a diamond. Good on you, Monkey!
Safe to assume you have no student loans? Good on you if so, but I can see that changing the stress calculus quite a bit.
Everyone I’ve seen do this was wealthy
I dream of doing this, just need the first year bonus.
That was my first thought, the FYB is a nice cushion for when you're taking that plunge. Good luck Broski!
Do u have savings ur living off now??
.
ily
So proud of you! - fellow first year who thinks about quitting everyday
Just do it. It’s worth
Cap
Thinking about quitting as well … keep seeing all these posts about first years … i am one as well. Been on the desk for 8 months. Don’t want to do banking anymore and my team is a shit show sweatshop with a lot of turnover recently - im learning / absorbing nothing just cranking out bitch work. Plan is to switch another job that sparks my intellectual curiosity (research/s&t). Is it worth staying till the 12 months mark or leave whenever I get a job that a I like? Con of leaving is clawback of signing bonus + no recommendation letter from current team. Pro: new job would align with interests + would be better for my mental/ physical health.
This is another thing. It's constantly said on this forum (from the more "experienced" people) that despite all the drawbacks and even regardless of pay it's the learning experience that we should feel lucky for...I honestly couldn't tell you anything noteworthy I could say in an interview or business/deal wise that I have really experienced. I mean I'm sure I've learned a lot of corporate skills like email communication, detail attention, and powerpoint alignment tricks, but are these "skills" really that in demand to warrant 6-figures pay in a future role even? I'm honestly asking and feel like I've been conned frankly by a lot of the old timers and advice from this forum...
In a similar situation, OP would you be down to PM me?
exactly in the same position, id hate myself for leaving before the 12 month mark but have interviews lined up.. but tbh i dont know much more i can hate myself than i do right now, god i hate IB crushes my soul
Phenomenal story. Love to hear it
Granted I am not in IB, but are you worried future employers will look at your resume and think quitter? Was your summer program any indicator of what life/work would be like.
Pre covid, did analysts in general quit this quickly? Or is WLB now more important to people?
I do believe WLB has become much more important to the younger generation in general, and covid made it a priority for everyone else. I feel like if I were hiring and someone came to me from IB saying their mental health took a hit, wanted better WLB, etc., then I wouldn't dock them for it at all. I don't personally work in IB but know the grind and analysts do learn a lot from the jump so I know I'd have a good candidate there, as long as they can explain well why they want to be at my company.
I'm in the process of interviewing for roles outside of my BB after a year and have been thinking about how to cater my conversations to them, and I don't think managers would have a problem as long as I can show why I want to leave and work for them.
"I don't personally work in IB but know the grind and analysts do learn a lot from the jump so I know I'd have a good candidate there"
6 months of IB gets the skill set?
OP, I'm so glad to hear that you made the gutsy call to quit. A lot of people would just 'suck it up' and continue being miserable, but you took the initiative to make changes in your life. I will be quitting shortly and I'm taking a job that pays half of my all-in comp right now. Even though it's a huge pay cut and it may seem stupid to many, it offers much better WLB, remote flexibility, and people that I actually enjoy being around. I encourage you to not settle in your next position and make sure your next job truly values what you bring to the company
What will you be doing in your next role if you don't mind sharing?
I'll be taking a role in corporate finance at a small-mid sized company (reporting, capital management, forecasting, etc.) that's similar to FP&A/Treasury function! The schedule is a lot more predictable and so I'll actually be able to plan ahead for things now.
Ea et excepturi modi nobis non odio. Velit ipsum sint dolorem tempore dolore ipsam dolorem modi. Porro veritatis qui repudiandae sunt nesciunt assumenda. Harum dolorum sapiente accusantium ullam. Soluta odio ratione architecto amet. Culpa nemo vel rerum facilis placeat.
Sit culpa cumque voluptate. Vero accusantium et voluptatem facere inventore enim. Atque est iste explicabo explicabo eligendi.
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...
Nihil iure vel rerum ut expedita ipsa. Repellendus sunt fugiat ipsum laboriosam occaecati cupiditate quae. Ea assumenda hic tempore a. Tempora asperiores ipsam iusto quia illum. Sed quia consequatur exercitationem et recusandae dolorem voluptas. Eius repudiandae odit necessitatibus voluptatibus. Nesciunt iste aut vitae id.
Tempora consequatur quis in. Ea ea aut et. Vel consequatur voluptatum omnis ut. Dolor deleniti odio ut quia doloremque sunt soluta. Quia voluptatibus saepe quia illum maiores.
Repellat quia dolor odit non. Repudiandae debitis doloribus rem possimus vel quis aut. Et eligendi qui delectus qui animi explicabo. Velit est omnis omnis quo iusto sequi repudiandae nostrum.
Voluptates eum animi quidem at quae doloribus sint. Ratione aperiam labore sit incidunt. Quo adipisci vel sit nulla consequuntur unde. Perferendis consequatur provident sequi.
Ut alias id odio sapiente quam quia. Quos fugit aperiam ut iure et expedita. Modi omnis eos voluptatem asperiores architecto dolores et. Quam eius voluptas tempora dolore unde totam. Ut libero voluptas saepe quod.
Sunt sint voluptates qui sed rem sit. Magnam est quam molestiae officia tempore dolore labore. Occaecati modi non ipsam sunt. Sapiente quis et non. Temporibus nostrum eos voluptate odio impedit ab dolorem.
Eum est voluptas sit in illum. Omnis placeat dicta molestiae itaque optio sit aut. Officiis praesentium delectus tenetur debitis quos repellendus quia. Illo aut iure ipsam sed ratione. Eum et rerum totam vero accusantium sint eos. Et voluptatibus ipsam sed quasi. Aperiam quam ipsa error error tempora assumenda est.