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April 30, 2024
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I was literally just gonna write this post. Curious to hear people’s thoughts as well.
Also interested
Simple, I have something to prove. I moved to the US at 15 with a bare understanding of the higher-ed system, career avenues, or even societal norms. My parents have college degrees from my native country but they were as, if not more, clueless than I was. Starting off in the middle of you sophomore year in HS without knowing a word of English is frustrating to say the least. But I put in the work, studied 5x harder than my friends, and was lucky enough to land at a lower tier Ivy (Cornell / Brown / Dartmouth). During the years I spent grinding, my parents were fighting their own battles. They managed to start a family business currently generating ~$1mm annual AT Income. After I graduated college, they floated the idea of retirement and having me take over the business. However, there's something that doesn't sit well knowing that my sweat equity had nothing to with the success of the business. They created something that grew organically out of thin air without my direct input, and me claiming ownership thereof is rather unfulfilling at a personal level. That's where Finance comes in. I so happened to get the right grades, meet the right people, and say the right things in the right social settings. I landed a sophomore SA at a BB, junior SA at a decent EB, and recently joined FT at said EB. This career path is something that I created. The effort and the hours required to get to where I'm are an output of my hard work and no one else's. Oftentimes you see people whose personality revolves around this job. For me it's different. I value the job not for what it is, but for what it turned me into. Personally, I'm not very certain of many things in life, but I'm absolutely convinced that my journey through recruiting and eventually an IB desk made me a better and more fulfilled person overall.
Edit: OP thanks for this thread - it feels great to share my story every now and then and to reflect on past and future endeavors.
Great story, thank you. So many softies on this site idk who threw MS 🤣
Hahaha another lesson that comes with the job. At some point you focus on your inner circle and yourself and stop caring about what others have to say.
There is no better field for training. People will happily review your work and jump on calls to explain stuff to you when you’re don’t know how to do it.
Even the project management - when I compare my skills to interns, it also feels like they’re trying to be slow - your ramp up after a year is quite steep, that’s not replicable in a regular job
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Three main reasons:
1) Like someone mentioned above, I have something to prove. I’m a student athlete at H/Y/P, but was never recruited out of HS, not even by D3s. I was never on any of the good AAU teams and never got any recognition like many recruits to these days. I worked my ass off in HS to get into college on my own merit, and then I walked on to my team, which is one of the more competitive ones in the league. I’ve never been the star athlete or scholar, so I’ve more or less done things with a chip on my shoulder. I want to prove to myself that I can do anything that anyone else can.
2) I’m not so narcissistic as to think that I got here on my own. My family, friends, coaches, etc., all made investments in me that I couldn’t have made myself. I want to do right by them and maximize the return on their investments.
3) I like money and being compensated for my effort
Patrick “BECAUSE YOU TOLD ME TO!!!!”
The fear of not having a better lifestyle than the already spoiled one my parents gave me.
Patrick Bateman
I wanted to push myself and go for something pretty challenging and competitive out of undergrad
PMW
Also one thing not mentioned is credibility. If you want to work on buy side, why would founders talk to a 25 year old kid ? Well, because you have executed a few billion dollar deal and have more expertise in M&A and financing than he has. Same for startups, it helps a lot to raise funds.
I want to fit in. Kidding, I don't have one anymore
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