Holidays as a first year
Hey everyone
Am a new first year who started this summer. Works been hectic but good. We are going back to the office soon and I wanted to hear how people think this will work going forward with travel.
Long story short my grandfather in India is not doing too well. I’ll save the sap story but I do want to spend some time with him as I know he’s not gonna be around for too long. My family is going this winter around Christmas and I wanted to gauge whether as a first year I can make this work.
I don’t want to take time off but the time zone will make it tricky to be online for ET hours. If I go during the Christmas time will I be expected to be in the office still? My office is doing hybrid 3 days in the office but I would be gone for at least a full week.
Any tips on how I can make this work as a first year who is yet to prove himself?
Just quit after this year and spend time w your family. This shit ain’t worth it.
Seconding this. You’ll always remember if you were or weren’t there for your grandfather, you’ll never remember which deal you were working on and your bosses certainly won’t remember either.
I think it would be best to just ask your more senior colleagues as to what's considered 'normal' at your firm with respect to taking time off.
But in my opinion, a job should never ever keep you away from spending time with a loved one, especially in situations like this. "We can make up for lost money, but we cannot make up for lost time."
Good luck and best of health to your grandfather!
If you're only gone for a week, feel confident asking to work from India for a week. It's really not a big deal unless you're in the midst of a deal which is about to sign (this is hard to account for as it's unpredictable and not really something you can plan). If you're in a good group then citing a family issue for being gone during a holiday week shouldn't be the biggest deal in the world. I totally get why you'd feel uncomfortable as I would've too when I was a first year but I've seen a couple first years do this and tbh you have had enough time between when you joined late summer and the christmas holidays to show you're not a terrible analyst so just ask, it likely won't hurt.
please go see your grandfather. you will regret this for the rest of your life if you choose to stay for work. i second the opinion from above that you should never prioritize your work over time with family
This
Definitely go see your grandfather man. Even if you were working at Goldman's top team, family should always come before everything. I say this from my own personal experience and I truly regret not having taken time off during my summer analyst stint to see my grandfather in Asia. He wasn't in bad medical condition at the time but I kept pushing back that I can see him next summer or the next time I had a vacation/holiday break. I still think back to how foolish I was for not putting family over work because it's like everyone says, "you can make up for lost money, but will never be able to make up for lost time with loved ones".
:( OP I am praying for your grandfather, I lost my grandmother earlier this year and it still haunts me. God be with him and with you :)
Completely agree with everyone saying go visit. Talk to your staffer ASAP - they will likely figure out some way to make this work but if not straight up ask how this can work for them.
Your title is kinda misleading - taking Christmas week off to go skiing is not okay as a first year, but your situation is very different. I'd ask for a week off (4-5 vacation days) and maybe 3 days working remote whatever hours you can.
Please don't repeat these idiotic statements of not taking holidays ever as a first year. Communication over everything, unless you're staffed on a mega intense project, taking a few days off winter time to unwind is perfectly acceptable.
Sometimes it feels like you guys suffer because of your own inability to stand up and communicate your needs clearly.
Depends on the group. In my group it is a strict policy that first years will not get vacation approved over holidays, because second years get 7-10 days off over the holiday. Generally very quiet over holiday weeks anyway, and first years take a week between Feb-Apr.
Some good advice in this thread so far. I'll emphasize:
1 - Get ahead of this, get the time off approved now. The earlier you present your boss with it, the easier it is to say yes
2 - Be honest and open. Everyone has a family and everyone has a special someone that has passed away. Don't be afraid to share that with your boss, there might be more empathy there than you realize
3 - I'm going to go against some of the advice and say that make sure you sign out for the whole period, do not commit to being logged in while away. Have your phone for emails, but that's it. Working remotely, especially from other countries, just never seems to go as planned and a bad zoom meeting where you cant control the web connection / environment / noises / etc can make you look bad. Get the time off for the whole period and then focus on your family - you will be glad you did.
Good luck!
Let ppl know sooner than later (i.e., now) and take the days, dawg. Unlikely to be leaving anyone in the lurch w/ this much notice, anyone who takes this poorly is someone to avoid staffings w/ in droves. Staying online during what sounds like your last Christmas w/ your grandpa isn't going to drop you from top to mid-bucket and it wouldn't be worth it even if it did.
General advice to any AN1s, shoot for mid-bucket. I shot for top bucket and have an extra ~$20k post-tax and heart problems to show for it.
Are you the one who created the angina thread?
Nah
Not to detract from the thread, but what exactly is the difference between mid and top bucket or even the distinction between a low bucket and mid bucket for AN1? Thank you
^
Jesus, what this industry has become. OP, by all means, go and visit your grandpa.
Inform your seniors about the situation and just go. Do not beat yourself over remote access, as it does not matter one bit. You are a first year analyst and no offence, no one cares about you at your workplace. You are not inexpendable and I guarantee you that your bank will not collapse with you being gone for two weeks.
Do not put work (especially meaningless slides) over your family, ever.
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