If I don’t like IB...
I tried really hard for a summer to enjoy my IB SA but I’m just not thrilled by the work (not enthusiastic about the slides or excel I’m putting together or the bigger picture of the deals) and I’m just disappointed that after all my prep and all my interview practice I just didn’t enjoy it at all. I think the benefit of virtual internship is that the fun stuff gets stripped away and you’re left with the raw work. No office hangout or break room chats or happy hours, just work and calling each other about edits to the deck.
It’s hard to feel office camaraderie at 2AM with just the Lync status box red for your team members. I, like many of my classmates, held the job in such high regard but we didn’t know what we would actually be doing. I just don’t mind the prestige or the money as much as I care about doing something I genuinely like because I desire to be top bucket at something somewhere just probably not possible here. I know long hours of this would be more miserable for me than others. Does this mean PE, HF aren’t right for me either? Anybody in this boat and where did you go instead? I’m hoping to find some inspiration for what general direction I should focus my attention next. Thanks for the help guys. The fact that I’m in this job right now is a large part scrolling through WSO and soaking up the stories and experiences of people who post. I’m grateful for the experience I got to have.
(I think I’d be able to stand it if it were Monday to Friday because I see all the inefficiencies that lead to the whole team clocking-in during the weekend. I honestly feel like there’s an argument to be made for transforming IB to weekdays only but I know nothing about the industry yet after just one summer and maybe that’s just wishful thinking. I’m just not a fan of signing up for active duty and being on call 15/6 (hospital staff are the real heroes doing 24/7))
(I’m reminded of the folks who work in restaurants who carry plates and take orders for nearly as many hours 7 days a week and I just don’t know why I can’t do it here. Are they passionate about waiting tables, probably not. But they manage and I thought I could manage too. I can’t help but think I’m just another entitled POS)
Sorry for the long post just wanted to write out my thoughts and please call me out on my bullshit as appropriate lol
Bruh, the world, everything we have, was built by people who dreaded the next morning, who hated their lord/boss, who suffererd day after day for their families, and if they were lucky, for their hobbies. Stop being an entitled bitch. Life sucks and then you die, and work is responsible for most of that suck, basta.
EDIT: Downvote me all you want, little non-target hardinhos, ain´t gonna change the fact that life is mostly very, very shitty.
How do you consistently have the worst takes on WSO in every thread I see you in?
Skill, simple and pure skill. Honed to perfection in duel with the greatest master shitposter the interwebs has ever seen. Now observe, fool :)
If I actually liked doing something, they wouldnt have to pay me to do it
Finishing up my summer in IB as well and feeling pretty much the same way. Ive generally been a pretty competitive person and thought that nature would serve me well in banking, but I just can't stand always feeling like I have to be on and not being able to detach from work for even a little bit without worrying about getting an email notification on my phone. Not passionate enough or interested enough in a specific exit to really work this type of lifestyle for a few years first. Im sure plenty of people will be like just suck it up but I don't see a point in pursuing this further without having any particular reasons. Looking into consulting jobs(which at least have light weekends), asset management, and corporate finance/fldp programs. Not sure what else to look into either. Kinda worried about not being able to recruit for other stuff before the offer expires cause its just too risky to turn down in this economy without having an alternative.
Also I feel privileged to have been making ib summer intern money for the past few weeks while so many people are struggling and it feels unreal that I'm complaining about this while people can work crazy hours for a fraction of the pay, but I think its important to understand what you're actually trying to get out of IB and it has to be strong enough to keep you going for the 2+ years. I just don't think I have that reason.
This is exactly how I feel. After working so hard the past few years to get this summer internship at a BB I really don’t know what I thought i wasn’t getting into (everyone knows about the type of people, hours, etc.). But after only 5 weeks of working I realized how hard it is to make time for friends and family and how hard it is to feel like I have a life away from the office. Literally to the point where when I hear a Skype ping or my outlook go off I get anxiety for what the next ask is/how long the night will be... But truly I know how fortunate we are to be given the opportunity to work in IB — just scary thinking what the next two years would be like (hopefully the office is better)
IB analyst here, take the offer if you have one, recruit for other jobs and I would understand you if you reneg our offer to leave banking, and I'd actually be pretty happy to stay in touch. Now if you reneged to go to another bank I'd be pissed.
Honestly, the kinds of people who enjoy spending all day working in Excel are the kinds of people that make IB miserable.
I'm so glad there's at least one kid on here who doesn't jack off to the thought of being in IB. I do think being back in office will be better for morale, but if you're already feeling this way, I'd seriously do some introspection and think about what really interests you. Yes, those two years in IB will open a lot of doors for you, but you don't have to white-knuckle it through your early twenties because you hate your job so much.
L
Really happy I found this thread, I can relate to pretty much all the comments. In fact I've been more surprised that there weren't more threads of post-internship realizations of people realizing they didn't actually like the industry and weren't as passionate about finance as they first thought.
For some years now, everything's been about getting the IB offer and finally breaking in. Genuinely thought it was my "dream". Now after having completed an internship and getting the offer, I've realized I didn't actually enjoy what I was doing, and definitely won't enjoy the job.
I posted this sentiment on another thread but yeah it is a weird sort of privileged 1st world quarter-life crisis, to finally achieve your goal and then realize you don't actually want it and then deal with the guilt of deciding whether to reject an offer that others would kill for.
But honestly, what would be the point of the privilege if you couldn't use it to make intentional decisions on what you want to do in your life. Very toxic to say that you should just suck it up and grit your teeth through years of something you absolutely hate just because there's people out there who'd love the opportunity. If you were able to get this far, you should be able to succeed in whatever lane you do choose to eventually take.
Just a few thoughts on this from someone who has been in banking a while now.
Find something meaningful. Most intelligent people would never settle for IB in the first place. Just took you longer to figure it out. Better late than to waste your career.
I feel the same way (albeit in S&T) -- wrapping up the final few weeks of my internship and have no drive or motivation and do not enjoy the work at all. Hearing the Bloomberg chat or Outlook sound makes me physically cringe at what the next task will be. I agree WFH has stripped the job down to its bare bones, making it way easier to see the unsavoury parts. I'm jealous of all my friends who have had an actual summer, even if they've been working, while I've been stuck at a desk for 4 months over 12 hours a day. I'm very grateful for the money and opportunity, especially in these times, but will be looking at a totally different industry for FT
If you are interested in finance and want to a career in business, then an IB analyst position is one of the best (if not the best) training grounds for personal and professional development right out of school. If you don't end up wanting to do IB long term, then at least you have a leg up on the competition in other fields from 2-3 years of 80+ hour weeks learning a diverse set of skills - modeling, data manipulation, PowerPoint slides, email communication, verbal presenting, working with executives and in a team, selling / marketing, etc.
Also, you really shouldn't "enjoy" an intern position. Most analysts and associates only give SAs the most seemingly menial tasks, because they don't trust them yet. Most SAs, even if you are at Harvard, Stanford or wherever, will spend the summer doing the worst tasks that analysts don't want to do. You have to prove you can do the easy stuff before you can do the more difficult, and typically more interesting work.
If you don't want to work in business / finance, then feel free to pursue a different path. If i were you and received an offer for an IB position, I would take it and grit it out for a couple of years because it can be a force multiplier for career trajectory.
As someone who was in the exact same boat (I was an IB M&A intern last summer), I would advise against accepting it. I turned down my return offer and now am working at an SF Tech Start up. I would say that enjoying what you do is really important. That being said, given COVID related hiring freezes, I would be realistic about what will be available in the fall.