For the past ~2 years I have been working on positioning myself to break in, only to find that working 0800-0200 every day is just not for me. I used to have hobbies, interests and a life outside of work, and am just feeling absolutely depressed doing these hours for 4 weeks straight now (in an office I don't really like culture-wise). I wouldn't mind working 60 hours a week and more on occassion, but 80-100 every week is just not what I want to do.
The main problem is that I have no idea what else to do if I won't go into ibd. I like doing analytical work in a deal setting or advising companies on things like capital structures or strategy. Are there any jobs out there that still pay decent, have ok hours and I can still transition into (having completed my studies already, Europe)? Are there tech start positions that I have completely missed, or is strategy consulting something that I might want to look into? Something else?
Thanks in advance!
I understand that it's better for you to keep your head down and try to stay in as long as possible, but do give it a think if its really the right thing for you.
If you're feeling completely crushed after 4 weeks in a place with a culture you dislike, you really have to realistically assess whether you can keep performing/maintain results/not break down within the 1/2/3 years that you stay onboard. Assuming that you stay for two years, you still have to work 20 more of these 4 weeks, and you're the only person that knows if you can actually make it.
It's probably a lot easier to join another division as a student/fresh graduate and your IB experience should always be relevant, and its always better than quitting 6 months in. Just give it a serious think if you should make the change now or toughen up and think of how to deal with it.
Nearly everyone on this site has rationalized why getting INTO banking is so important. It'll be hard to find many sympathizers to the contrary. If you have a reason to leave after giving it a try and are set on it, I really don't see why your views on this should be changed. If someone is able to talk you out of it, it probably wasn't a good enough reason to leave and you're being babyish.
But in all seriousness, the job comfort from a high level perspective can't be that much different if you're moving from one large company to another. But, the lifestyle could be very different because the hours, culture, pay, and location can all change. Keep that in mind. If you're happy with the aforementioned changes and have a good reason, just go for it. But you probably won't find a lot of sympathizers on this board.
On the job comfort note, I'm really referring to things like training, job security, role definition, resources, etc. Once you're talking about hours, that's typically falls under culture and can affect the work environment, but people aren't really focusing on hours unless it's about one's lifestyle. You want better hours, which is understandable, to do more outside of the office.
IB is great in a lot of different ways. But if you have the chance to do CF at a similar or larger company, you should be able to transition easily because of the former job related things I mentioned above, which is very important to a successful transition. Once you make the switch, you might benefit from the lifestyle expectations/norms that come with the job if your expectations are reasonable. It's a bit similar on the other side of an IB position, except it's probably the willingness to make lifestyle sacrifices for some perceived benefit later down the road that defines folks. Some kids on the other side can't even get CF roles without having IB experience. And for everyone else, maybe they have not gotten the shit kick out of them yet and don't know, or just believe the sacrifice is worthwhile But the point is, it comes down to your choice and how you define your own life. I've had to realize this for myself.
First things first, your health and livelihood are 1000x more important the money. No job is worth losing your health over. Period. And a work office and culture who wont try to help when they see it sucking the life out of you isnt worth it. There is a reason why turnover is so large in IBD after a year. Sure the exit opps are good and the hours are better, but if things are this bad, you need to get some help for yourself.
That being said, there are plenty of jobs within a bank you can do that is advisory and analytical but dont have the crazy hours every day. Like you said, once in awhile is fine, and working 50-60 hours a week doing what you love to do can be found. I would know, my position is this and is still front office banking.
Try to look around internally for a transfer if possible, but if it is affecting you this much, dont sit on it. Look consulting as well. In the short term, i highly recommend going to a therapist or psychologist. Talking to strangers online for work advice is one thing, but when it comes to mental help, go to the experts. Theres nothing wrong with it whatsoever.
Take care of yourself.... dont have any shame
My friend, there is some mixed advice here for you. This isn't an easy decision. You've obviously worked hard to get where you're at. I've had long stretches in 9-5 jobs and long stretches in 80 hour a week gigs. They are very different lives.
If you're already regretting the lack of work/life balance than I don't think PE or consulting are for you. PE hours can be as bad as IB depending on the shop and it's not like you get to pick and choose where you work. Consulting is highly variable and you'll regularly have to blow off friends and relationships to finish up a deck at midnight.
I'd take a different approach. Think of what you liked about IB and craft a story around it (I wanted to work on deals, I wanted to work with corporate execs on making decisions, I wanted to be in a prestigious job, I wanted to make good money, I wanted to learn skills to be on a professional investment team etc). Pick the 1-2 factors you care about the most and ideally that you're good at. There are jobs that will fit more than one of those buckets.
Those factors could lead you to a number of places (pwm or real estate in finance come to mind, corp dev, f500 strategy, etc, a lot of which are named here).
At this point in your life you should be focused on taking the first steps that will ground you well for your 5 year plan. 10-20 year plans are too unpredictable. You shouldn't be focused on money. You can adjust to a different income with a cheaper apartment, lower savings and no bottle service.
That being said, finishing out your internship would be ideal. Treat it as an end date. It will sit on your resume forever and you want to walk away with references.
Regarding work life balance, it's not all about hours, it's about predictability. A lot of corporate gigs etc mean that 99% of your plans outside of work are set in stone. It's a nice feeling to know that you can plan a meet up weeks or days in advance and look forward to making it instead of hoping that you can make it. You won't burn bridges with people for flaking out. It makes dating more fun.
Comp is a tradeoff there, but as I stated, comp isn't important in your 20's if the role doesn't fulfill your 5 year goal. You can go to a F500 and make $300k 10 years out of school instead of 5 years out in banking, but with a lot more fun, experiences, vacations and friends made along the way. There's a lot of pros to a banking career, but if they're not filling your needs, get the fuck out.