IB vs. Work / Life Balance - Need to Decide

Recently interned at a top group (GS TMT / MS M&A) and enjoyed the work and the people. However, I've been a competitive athlete (endurance sports) all my life and don't know if I'm willing to give that up completely. Based on the internship experience, it would be impossible to train and recover sustainably while still devoting the necessary time and effort the job requires.

Long-term I'm interested in something more VC/entrepreneurial, and was wondering if it's worth "sacrificing" two years for a safer path to that long-term goal. On the flip side, are there any alternative finance (or otherwise, I suppose) career paths that might be worth pursuing?

Has anyone else encountered similar thoughts when weighing FT IB offers versus another career path (could still be finance)? Appreciate the insight.

5 Comments
 

It’s worth the two year sacrifice. I’m a D1 athlete myself (football) and it’s hard pill to swallow knowing that there’s no way to sustainably do both in terms of training. I’ve picked up calisthenics, jump roping, and shadow boxing to help fill the void as you can still stay incredibly fit doing 30 minutes of jump roping a day. Maintain lean body mass with a progressive calisthenics routine and feel like you have skill progression to look forward to as a boxer.

I know it’s largely unrelated to the sport you probably do, but I outline all of that to say you can still stay fit but will have to trade off elite training at least for the short term.

 

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