Terrible SA Experience, Need Some Encouragement
Hi everyone, I just finished my SA at a top-tier BB. From the outset it was set up to be a shitshow, I was placed in a group outside my entire preference list which had precisely zero Analysts because they all quit. The team had a preference for foreign language speakers, and since I wasn't one, I got siloed with this one Associate who had a reputation even in other teams for being a dick.
Fast forward two weeks, the exposure was awesome because the team had no analysts and the interns were basically running the entire show. But we were pulling 145 hour weeks every other week and 110 hours otherwise, every single weekend, and the all nighters were gradually becoming the norm. That would have been tolerable, but this Associate makes it his personal mission to make my life hell. If I asked to clarify things I would be told to "Go away" or "Go ask someone else your stupid questions", I was told I was "stupid" and "retarded", and that maybe I should just quit. He also had a habit of throwing markups on my desk without saying anything, and calling me over to his desk every 5 minutes or so by barking my name. Other interns saw it and tried to make me feel better, but it steadily got worse and the hours and abuse were really wearing me down.
After four consecutive all nighters, I was on the way home when I had breathing difficulties and went to a nearby clinic. The doctor told me I needed to rest, that my eyes were bloodshot and my heart rate was irregular. I decided to tell my staffer I needed a day off, but heard that an intern in another team had fainted and was instantly unstaffed from everything and basically fired. I held it in, telling myself that if I just worked hard and showed progress I would get an offer. Things got steadily worse, shouting got more intense, but I think I got better at it and other people were praising my work, though this guy had a habit of shooting down other people's compliments of my work. Someone commented I was probably the best intern he'd met, and the Associate replied, "Are you serious, you need to meet more interns," among other things.
When the SA ended, feedback was that the progress was great and I was very technically competent, but they didn't think I fit into the team. Wasn't a huge shock, but I was receiving strong feedback at the end and honestly believed I had a chance.
I'm really crushed right now and doing my best for FT recruiting, but the experience has left me really shaken physically and psychologically. I had quite a lot of offers from SA recruiting and reached out to those, but it hasn't been amazing. Could someone tell me if things are like this as an Analyst? Is this normal or am I just weak? Does it get better? Still want to do IBD for sure and I don't care if I start at a no name boutique, but would appreciate the encouragement.
TLDR: Got destroyed during SA, need some encouragement.
145 hours and 110 every other week? 4 consecutive all nighters? Sry, but I call BS on that.
Yeah it took a while to realise that was abnormal. I complained about it once, but I was told it wasn't the case all year round and maybe I should just be more efficient and go home earlier. The workload didn't decrease though so I don't think it made a difference.
Sounds like an awful experience man, I'm sorry.
what do you mean by 4 all-nighters though? Like do you mean finishing early morning, going home for a couple hours and coming back at noon, or actually staying in the office for 96 consecutive hours?
Maybe I had bad luck but I don't think 96h is possible for the average Joe. My personal record is like 55-56h and then I passed the hell out with a fever and slept for 23H straight
Thank you. It's heartening to hear that it's not meant to be like that normally. I'm looking forward to being able to get a FT position under more normal circumstances since I genuinely enjoyed the work.
I would say I left the office at 0600 and got back at 0800 for those 4 days. On regular bad days I would leave at 0500 and be in at 0900, but I think the norm for most people in the group was to leave at 0200 or 0300 and be back at 0900 or 0930.
I think I learnt a lot about endurance and humility and various things under those circumstances though. Wish it didn't come at the price of an offer, but very valuable lessons nonetheless.
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