Lost and Confused

Coming from a middle income family and semitarget background, I was never sure if I’d break into IB but even after I got my summer analyst offer and stint wrapped up and even jumping ship to a top BB for full time I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing with my life - my classes senior year feel really boring for the most part and I don’t have enough cash to really do fun shit/travel. I am glad I got a job that pays the bills and all but I feel like I’ve lost the next big mountain to climb.

So far I am into lifting, hiking, sports etc with my free time and enjoy reading still but I kind of want to be entrepreneurial and lost in my work and fall in love with my day to day but I don’t know where to start. The last thing I want is to be in golden handcuffs after entering finance and forgetting what being passionate about something feels like.

Tl;dr after successfully recruiting wtf do I do to grow as a person mentally

8 Comments
 

My friend, life is a set of goals completetion of which is leading to the death.

You need to be inspired by something, motivated by the set of goals, each goal must be bigger and more ambitious than the last one.

Although how you find your purpose in life is up to you.

Go touch grass, live a little. Find a girl/ guy you like. Life is not just finance/ib/money, it’s a journey.

Tldr: it’s a phase you’ll be fine soon ( I was there literally last week, so somewhat of an expert on a subject matter)

 
Most Helpful

A lot of college kids feel this way right after graduating, or even during senior year if a job is already lined up after graduation. For years you had long term, defined structure and goals such as finishing middle school gets you to high school and all those challenges, and then doing everything perfectly in high school to get to the right college, and then doing everything perfectly in college to get the job you wanted. You’re probably looking out at the perceived “top of the mountain” that you’ve been told to climb for most of your life and don’t have another goal in mind yet. That’s totally normally and honestly expected.
The way to get out of that slump is to look ahead another 10-15 years and have something (realistic) to chase. It might be to travel to a list of countries, building a company, raise a family, etc. that you can accomplish over that 10-15 years. Having a “checklist” or milestones help give people drive and purpose and when people don’t have an obvious goal they are trying to achieve anymore, they get into a funk or feel depressed. My advice to you is to sit down and have an honest conversation with yourself about what you genuinely want your life to look like and what you want to accomplish with your time on Earth. Having a high paying job is an amazing accomplishment, but it’s meant to further a bigger goal and not be the goal itself. Once you know what you want to do (and it can/should be multiple things) then dedicate specific goals you want to hit to achieve the greater plan and it’ll always give you purpose and excitement.
Congrats on the amazing job, and hopefully you feel better soon!

 

dude when I had wrapped up my FT offer after my summer, I did not give a fuck about life at all nor school.

Didn't bother going to classes and practically became a bum

 

recruiting is so difficult makes me want to just fucking quit aiming for finance

 

Amet aut culpa delectus aut nemo. Totam repellat similique ea eveniet qui. Voluptates et id ut voluptatem praesentium. Ab excepturi officiis qui inventore quis iure.

Nihil reprehenderit blanditiis inventore in eaque quam ut. Ut incidunt optio facilis rerum. Eum omnis sapiente ipsum itaque quibusdam dolores et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”