Learned Nothing in Banking. Feel Worried.
Really just the context above. Slow year for the group, and while I have worked on interesting accounts (we do a lot of strategic advisory work) / have done deals, I feel like I haven’t really learned anything besides being better at formatting, dealing with office politics / navigating difficult personalities / admin work.
I was one of the hardos in college and tried my hardest to learn a lot of the technical aspects of the job through school / other internships. My peers are doing the same work, so it’s not like they’re getting superior experience. Genuinely a little scared I haven’t learned much in banking, and I get the sense that PE (where I’m going next) is going to be something similar.
Reaching out here to see if the sentiment is shared. I’m always interested in learning or doing something intellectually stimulating, and reflecting back on the year, it feels like I wasted a year on what could’ve been a really good learning experience. I try to read when I have free time + keep covering stocks / companies I like, but I just feel like this upcoming year is going to be another waste / scared I may waste my years for another 2 years in PE. Like HFs and the work they do but not sure I can stomach that type of vol / lifestyle…
Curious to hear people’s thoughts
Curiosity and being a self-starter /proactive is the #1 most important thing to being a good associate. It seems like you are doing that well through reading and keeping up with companies. Everything technical, you can and will learn on the job. As long as you understand how basic comps, precedents spreading, and LBO's work, you have enough technical skills to where you can learn on the job. The job varies across firm, but at most lean UMM-type shops, you'd be shocked at how intellectually stimulating it can be if you want it to be. At all public MF's, you are largely a memo monkey given business model, but at smaller firms you can really play up / take on more responsibility early on if you want to.
Second this, well said. Only other thing I’d add is that at the junior level, you’re paid simply for your ability to produce work product. Intellectual curiosity is a cherry on top. The job gets more judgement-based as you get more senior, just need to do a good job as a junior in able to stay long enough to become a senior where the job gets increasingly interesting.
Agreed; the work product needs to be strong as a basic expectation. Think by the second year, most people are able to produce good enough work, to where it's hard to stand out based on just work quality. I am getting the senior associate promote at a large UMM, and one of the things that has been brought up in reviews is that I ask good questions and that I demonstrate intellectual curiosity. Everyone else who is getting the promote was similar and/or had something else going for them that isn't around technical ability. Doing the basic reading as an IB analyst puts you strongly on that path as you can come in with a strong knowledge base.
Congrats on UBS!
What are you expecting to learn? In my own experience, the young people who learn the most the fastest are the ones who seek out mentors and try to demonstrate why they're worth training.
This is a common thing students don't realize when entering the workforce. In school, there's a built in element of "You're here, we teach you for your money" that doesn't exist in the workforce. You have to seek out the training and seek out the mentorship, as it doesn't come to you the way it does in academia.
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