Regrets Due to Finance
I know similar questions have been asked in the past but I want to twist it a little.
We all know that finance, broadly speaking, is a lucrative industry. Lots of young, hungry guys pursue a career in finance with the ultimate goal of making a lot of money and obtain that sought-after "prestige", that has always been associated with this field, especially with IB. Competition is fierce and lots of hours are spent in the office (if you already have a job) or networking/cold calling-emailing (if you are looking for one).
With the rising of many websites/blogs that have interests in selling products about breaking into the industry, a lot of students are "brainwashed" and they base all their choices on what recruiters might think of them, afraid that they're not going to land an offer. (I myself used such programs and found them very useful...but you know what I mean.)
I am still a student and I think I can speak on behalf of a lot of my peers when I say that there is a lot of pressure on the decisions we make if we want to get into IB/VC/PE, even if we are still very young.
What are your biggest regrets that arose from such mindset? Is there any once-in-a-lifetime experience that you missed out on and you wish you had said "screw banking, I can always think about that later"? Does any of you regret not enjoying "fully" the best years of your lives or fun and banking are not mutually exclusive as many people think?
Again, I am still a student and these are just some of my observations after having been reading this forum for a while, so feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
P.S. I know we can have long discussions about how lucrative finance is, about the "Prestige" and so on but cut me some slack on that...it is not the main topic of this thread.
I basically did everything life threw in my general direction during my undergrad. Probably one of my greatest regrets, as I'm stuck with a shit UG gpa that will haunt me for some time. Obviously, the best is to find that sweet, sweet balance. However, most people tend to go all in either way. For me I went all in on partying, and ended up miserable. I have friends that went all in on studies/career and ended up miserable. Now doing my masters I'm back on the other side of the scale doing banking hours in the library, trying to off-set my UG with a solid Grad gpa. Although I have had tons of fun, I can't help feeling like I've pissed away my early 20s only to end up bitter. All endeavours have diminishing returns on utility.
If you are honest with your self, work hard and smart, but ultimately focus on happiness I think you will end up where you should be.
If I could do it all again i would: 1. Actively try to find what career path may suit you, this does not just happen by it self. Since you're on WSO I'm guessing you have this one covered, most students don't.
Work a steady 9-5 with studies during the semester, banking hours before finals. Get that fucking gpa. University is a credibility builder, do everything you can to get the best grades possible with least time spent. Spend time outside studying to actually learn what you need for your career. (Modeling, non-academic finance, etc.)
Go out more, drink less. Alot of the gpa grinders have trash social skills because they have not worked on them. You work on social skills by being social, go figure. The kids that have been partying all their UG can probably talk circles around 90% of the top gpas. Try to go out more often (yes, really), but drink way less.
Find your sweet spot where you can still get up by 8 the next day and do the 9-5. Scandinavian drinking culture may be excessive on this, but a liter of vodka 2-3 times a week does not do you any good. You have so much time on your hands as a student if you are productive. You can go out for drinks every day of the week and still crunch more hours than needed to get a 4.0. The problem arises when you barely get past the hangover from the last bender as you're getting ready for the next pre-party.
Longer post than intended, hope someone finds it useful.
Fun and banking are not mutually exclusive. I don't really have any regrets and am happy I put the work in during college / analyst years to get me where I am today. My career is on the right track having worked as an analyst at a top NY BB IB group and an associate at a large megafund.
The main difference in how you "live" when working as an analyst vs. college is that the fun parts of life are sometimes spread very far apart. You might get stuck working 7 days a week, 17 hours a day for an entire summer with no days off - and yes, it really sucks. But there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. You will get to take a couple vacations and some long weekends each year as an analyst. I've always loved to travel and by the age of 25 I had been able to experience many places that I would never have been able to, had I been working a "normal" job.
Banking can be brutal, but it is a great opportunity if you have the mental strength to get through those tough weeks. You really can make the most of the free time, since you get paid quite well for a 23 year old, and don't really have much time off to spend it. So when you do take a holiday, you can splurge. I've missed countless events / trips but have also been able to travel to vegas, europe, south america, asia...
My advice to college students trying to break into the industry is that you need to strike a balance and be yourself. If you are smart enough and have the right personality, you will succeed. While it takes some effort and strategy to land a job at a top bank, the "brainwashed" kids who try to hard, and only do what "looks good" will fail. The kind of person who succeeds in the industry did well at school because he found the material interesting, networked effectively because he was an interesting person with diverse interests and had an intellectual curiosity for the field. I interviewed dozens of students for summer analyst positions and you could always tell which ones had been reading the WSJ for years, and which just tried to cram for interviews.
In conclusion, I'm happy I stuck with the path. Sure, I missed some parties in college. In banking I had to work a bunch of Saturday nights, and almost got dumped by my girlfriend when I had to pull an all-nighter on her birthday. And yes, I had to cancel several vacations / weekend trips because of work. But life is about trade offs, and at 28 I have a (mostly) enjoyable job making ~$300k per year, a nice apartment, a healthy relationship and a healthy nest egg for retirement.
I do actually have some regrets. During my internship, I pushed myself much harder than I needed to and had to face the consequences. A few months later, I was diagnosed with a serious chronic health condition and spent so much time in hospitals that I had to take time off school.
To accommodate the time I took off, and to ensure I was close to a support network, I chose an investment banking job closer to my parents. Even though I didn't have much interest in corporate finance and wanted to be in a markets job, I took an investment banking role at a bulge bracket because I felt a sense of loss for the front office job I loved and had to renege.
This was a terrible mistake. The job wasn't the type of work I wanted to do, nor did it use my training. I hadn't paid any attention to social fit when accepting the offer - I got along fine with the more senior bankers and admins, but constantly felt excluded (and in one case actively bullied) by my direct colleagues. I had a good attitude and took any work thrown at me, and ended up working ridiculous hours alone in the office. The biggest factor in causing relapse for my health was lack of sleep, so while I didn't get as unwell as I had before, my family were begging me to quit because I was far from OK. I was so unwell at a point that I couldn't read, but had to try and proofread pitchbooks, which did not do myself justice. I also developed other health conditions which are still being diagnosed - I'm having a second surgery shortly, a bunch of other tests and am pending blood tests results for completely different areas of my body.
It all worked out OK - professionally and personally. I'm in a job related to my interests and training that I love so far, I'm in a great relationship, and moving away from my college friends has given me the chance to spend time with old friends and extended family. My health is slowly coming back.
What I would say though is that without your health, you have nothing. If you push yourself too far, the marginal gain is negative to your career. It's not worth it. Listen to yourself - I had a clear a sign as any after my internship and ignored it.
I would also say that prestige seems to matter so much here, but in reality, when you're inside your cubicle, what matters is the assignment in front of you and who you have to talk to about it. Social fit is key, but what's even more important is being in the right job. People say that investment banking lets you do anything - but it really only lets you do what it trains you to do. If you don't want to do PE, work for a equity based hedge fund, work in corporate development or go to grad school, investment banking is not the best path. If you're like me and like markets, you'd be better off in S&T, research or investment management. Investment banking just doesn't give you the skill set.
One more thing I wanted to add - everyone talks about spending x months or years in banking to pick up the skills. The reality is that often you can get assigned one type of work over and over. It happened with most people in my group. Try to position yourself for more diversity, but if you're there for a year or more and you're not getting the exposure that you're requesting, don't be scared to leave. It's better to go and develop your skills elsewhere than plateau.
Having a girl friend my freshmen year of college.