Really want to exit..
Am a first year IB analyst in a TMT group. As I’ve progressed through the job I feel like I may need something with a bit of a slower pace. Prestige doesn’t hold much weight to me and by no means am I interested in making insane amounts of money at the cost of time spent with family and friends. I feel like I’m not good at this job bc I don’t like it and wake up every day completely miserable. The thought of continuing something like this for 2 years is truly heartbreaking and seems impossible .
What are my options? Lastly, how bad would it be if I left banking before 2 years?
Would love to hear any thoughts!
What type of bank are you at? BB, MM, EB? That will determine what kind of exit op you can get. Won’t lie PE is very similar to IB, and the WLB isn’t great. Same with MBB consulting. I’d say try to exit to a CorpDev or Strategy role if possible. As for you exiting IB before two years, it doesn’t really matter. Ik a guy who exited after 9 months to an MBB.
Thanks for the response. I’m at one of the top BBs. PE may be out the door tbh for the reasons you’ve mentioned. Was thinking corporate but would love to hear more about those roles and if I’d be a good fit. Any resources you recommend?
I’m sure most Corporate roles would love a former BB Investment Banker. Not to sure about resources for these roles, but I’m sure wso or cfi has some stuff to prepare. As for the type of companies you could work for, probably tech sector, as you’re a TMT banker. Maybe a company you advised on in M&A potentially?
Nothing wrong with leaving banking after less than 2 years. Know someone who exited to PE after only 9 months, and it’s not held them back one bit
No harm in leaving quickly especially if you are genuine about why (that the culture / pace wasn't a fit for you). You've already done something impressive by getting there, and IB having grueling culture is hardly an outlandish take.
Thanks for the response man. I guess I’m also wary on how steep a pay cut I’d take if I leave early and if I’d even be able to make it to a decent corporate name.
You're almost definitely going to take a pay cut but depending on what type of role you head into, it might not be too outrageous. You could consider something like Private Bank which has slightly better WLB and the pay won't be a huge step down (obviously read about it and decide if those skills / responsibilities suit you). If you work at a firm with both, it may be a simpler internal transfer.
I also have a good friend who works in transaction / payment services for a BB...basically he sells his bank's transaction processing and cash-management services to F500 companies. I don't know too much of the details but lots of stuff like that exists, where you still make great money for a recent college grad, but where hourly expectations are more modest than IB.
And ultimately if you try something like that out for a year and still hate the environment, you could go do something totally different. Two caveats of course are that 1) if you leave IB under 1yr you're gonna get questions around that even if your reasons are strong, and 2) it's always easier to leave than it is to come back, so just be sure of what you're doing before you pull the trigger on anything
Good luck man
There are actually quite a lot of options on corporate - it could be especially fun if you do scale up / start up - very dynamic, could be decent pay of the start up is well funded - they would likely the able to attract good talent so could still be surrounded by ambitious and interesting people - while also not having a crazy payout and actually doing interesting work. Progression is definitely less straight forward than banking - but again if you knoww that banking / PE is not a thing - that could be a stepping stone and you see if you like it or not - if not then you could try another role / move further and find a bit more clarity around what you actually like. I have exited a BB IB after 3y and transitioned into strat finance (with a brief stink in early stage VC too which i didnt love) - but have been liking it in start fin since - I actually write about non traditional IB exits in my substack called "Off track, by design".
Definitely not worth staying stuck for a long time unless you really need the money or tied to a visa temporarily etc
Hey man, I’m the original poster. Seeing this now and want to say thank you for the response. To be quite honest, since making this post my frustration and urgency to leave has doubled. Going to check out your Substack but at the same time would love to reach out to you one off as I’d love to hear more about your story
Apologies - after looking at your Substack I found that you’re not a man haha. Really enjoyed reading some of your stuff. Have been finding it to be super relatable and helpful. Hard to believe this is free lol. Am extremely envious that you made a successful pivot into what you find much more enjoyable. Very happy for you and this gives me hope that I too will find something despite feeling so frustrated and lost
I’m going to play devils advocate here and say you should stick it out. The first year is horrible but it gets a lot better your second year. You’re less than 1 year out of school and there is something to be said for proving you can hold down a job for a while. Quit at 12 months if you have to, but make it to that 1 year mark at least to collect your bonus.
Now if you’ve got another gig lined up, go for it (I’d still recommend collecting your bonus first at least) but I’d commit to doing that other gig for at least 2 years. There are a lot of people whose early careers get stalled by frequent jumps without staying anywhere long enough.
When you talk about being burned out - how much of it is: 1) exhaustion, 2) working with bad people and 3) ego damage due to high volumes of negative feedback?
For #1 take a vacation as soon as you can - just ask your staffer and get it on the calendar. No one will remember you took time off a year from now. Stop drinking, eat clean, and prioritize sleep above all else. Consecutive all nighters will kill your morale and output more than anything else. Schedule something fun with friends, even if there’s a chance you have to cancel, doing a fun activity (not sitting around comiserating) has a way of refreshing you.
For #2 find the people who are nice to work for in the office (there will be at least one) and get to know them. Go to that MDs office and introduce yourself or ask that VP for coffee and express a desire to work with them. Don’t let your staffer control who you get to work with. Apart from that, get coffee with people and try to get to know them (even if it’s hard). Asking a small thing like if they have plans for the weekend and then on Monday asking about how that thing was, is an easy way to build familiarity and friendliness. When people know you as a person they treat you more like a human.
For #3, you have to develop the ability to turn off. It’s really really hard to do, but you have to be able to separate your work self from your personal life self and frankly not take criticism as a review of your personal worth. Very easy to say, very difficult to do. Your ability to manage anxiety, stay calm, and not let your ego make you defensive or depressed is what will determine your long term ability to survive. Even outside of banking, this is absolutely critical to having a healthy relationship and family - you can’t take work personally and bring that stress home with you.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to write this. I think you bring up some good points that I’ve honestly thought about and I do admit are very important.
Regarding the burnout - I will say the things you mentioned have all been contributors. While I don’t take criticism as personal attacks, I will admit it has sometimes hurt the confidence I have in myself as a person and asaprofessional. Over time I’ve started to isolate it more so I think I’m improving on that end. However, I think a lot of the burnout is stemming from the interest and need for purpose. I’ve spent most of my life pleasing others and doing what others thought would be best for me. I’ve recently came to the realization I haven’t done much critical thinking when it comes to myself and what I want my future to be. I used to point fingers and tell myself it’s XYZs fault for pressuring me into doing this but at the end of the day it’s all on me. I’ve been too much of a coward to think for myself and make the hard decisions which has led me to my current predicament. Not sure if I ever had the love for this and was just fueled by others ambitions or perhaps I lost some on the way (maybe both) but I don’t have interest in the companies, the deal size, the money bags etc. I feel as if I haven’t prioritized finding what my purpose should be and as I learn more about myself, the more misaligned I feel with my position and industry.
Regarding vacation - to be quite honest, I’ve definitely taken advantage of PTO for this exact reason. It’s nice and all but to me it feels like being let out of prison for a few days to go back which makes the last day or two a bit depressing (going back to your point on isolating work self and personal self is totally valid and this is something I know I have to improve)
On your point on finding someone nice to work with - I’ve had the opportunity to work with some bad actors and some good ones. There’s definitely a difference there but for me, only marginally. At the end of the day work is work tbh.
I definitely agree with your point on turning off. I think I’ve gotten a bit better here but still got some ways to go. No matter where I end up this is a skill any professional will need to master. I guess where im at now it’s just been hard given the terrible hours Ive been working and not having a weekend for awhile. I understand I have a whole life ahead of me with experiences to come but at the same time I feel as if I’m wasting my youth. Im not talking about getting drunk with some guys i may not speak to in 5 years but times with my significant other. Times with family. Finding some hobbies. I didn’t play sports much growing up and feel as if i have no depth to myself besides tv shows/ movies and video games I used to play. Would I like to play an instrument? Do I wanna take a martial arts class? Take up hiking? I have no idea but maybe I should find out I guess
I think you’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself to find work that is meaningful at the very start of your career. There is absolutely no job on earth that will not have you doing mindnumbingly boring stuff for the first several years honestly. Even if you became a Navy SEAL you’d be in training for at least 2 years and then be a junior guy for another couple years.
This is all to say, I wouldn’t extrapolate too much based on what you’ve experienced on the job so far, Banking isn’t that great or intellectually stimulating of a job but it opens doors to a lot of more interesting ones. I would encourage you to think of IB as a temporary weird life experience that isn’t really all that predictive of what the rest of your career will look like. It’s an extension of your education not a final destination.
I’m saying this as a guy who did 2+2 and hated my life the entire time but now 5 years later, I got to spend the 2nd half of my 20s traveling and having a ton of fun and time exploring hobbies while working remotely and accruing a massive amount of wealth. My job is also way more interesting now with more seniority.
If you asked me during IB what I thought of the path I was on, I would have said the exact same thing as you. I only did this for prestige, I hate finance now, I never got to live and build hobbies. I was spiraling and assuming I’d be an analyst forever and putting tons of pressure on myself to have it all figured out at 22. In retrospect, I wish I just was a bit more patient, less existential, and more grounded in the fact that it’s a very very small % of my career but one that unlocks a huge amount of wealth and optionality to do really interesting work. You’re doing IB as a professional finishing school not as a final destination.
Now the last caveat I’ll make here is that if you don’t feel safe - ie: you’re suicidal - then disregard everything I’m saying and quit immediately. No future benefit is worth anything if you aren’t alive to enjoy it. But if you’re not that far and every day is just an exhausting slog - then I’d encourage you to persist at least until you get your first bonus that you’ve already worked for.
heartbreaking for the banking industry....
truly
i think we are in the same group
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