First year analyst who quit and never felt happier

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.

 

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

 
Funniest

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.

 
Most Helpful

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?

 

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

 

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. 

 

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

 

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.

 

im learning / absorbing nothing just cranking out bitch work. 

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...

 

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.

 

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

 

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