You're too fucking privileged.
This is neither a troll post nor an inspirational story so keep your box of tissues out of this. Wall Street has a major issue, and it's not WFH hours. It's the complaining of bottom-bucket, self-entitled analysts that grew up spoon-fed the luxury of having the world bend to their every social, academic, or professional request. The types that get their first handjob by making a girl (or guy) feel sorry for them and do it out of pity. Ironically, the analysts from the Goldman survey begging for their voices to be heard are parasites and part of the reason why the camaraderie of the industry is being driven to all-time lows. Before I receive monkey-shit for this wildly unpopular opinion, let me explain my situation and why I'm not complaining.
Edit 2: Blah, blah, blah. Boring "sob story" that blurred the main point of this post. I've come to realize that this job boils down to a matter of perspective. Judging from the banana to monkey shit ratio, opinions have been mixed on whether my approach is the right one, and I respect that.
Edit 3: Analyst 2 in M&A seems cool. I'm a big fan of Always Sunny.
I began working in an industry coverage group at a top BB (GS, JPM, MS) ~8 months ago and have averaged 90+ hour weeks since. The experience has been stressful as others on this forum have discussed but I am otherwise content. Why? My signing bonus alone was higher than my household income growing up and I don't have a plan B. Money talks and I'm willing to listen, evidently more than others. Anyone complaining about working a lot of hours while earning 3x the median household income at the age of 22 needs to check their fucking privilege.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but nobody cares about your lack of work-life balance or that you're missing out on Thirsty Thursdays. You're bitching about associates, vice presidents, and managing directors asking you to do unbearably mundane tasks while still finding a way to fuck up. You're sweating bullets aligning logos, conducting market research, and redacting confidential information from documents that take 0.1% of the mental aptitude needed to pass an organic chemistry exam. As an analyst (myself included) you are a disposable asset that takes 1.8 years to break even on. You lack the ability to make any meaningful strategic, revenue-generating contributions in either deal sourcing or intellectual thought. I urge you to quit and truly hope that you can find the time to binge-watch Netflix working a run-of-the-mill 9-5 job without getting offended when your manager asks you to send a Zoom link. Maybe, just maybe, you'll be happy then.
Sorry for not conforming to this site's circle jerk of hating on investment banks in 2021. I hope feeling sorry for yourselves helps you get through the day and wish everyone the best of luck in these unprecedented times.
As crushing as work has been, this post is weirdly refreshing to see. I've gotten the sense a herd mentality is forming that discourages people from seeing the silver lining of the job and just how valuable of an opportunity an investment banking role is, whether it be at a BB, IA, or MM.
I'm heading off to a UMM private equity fund with a particularly harsh culture in the next few months. The thought of having to develop an investor mindset early and beginning to get judged on the quality of my thoughts (and not how nicely formatted my appendix slides are) is incredibly daunting, especially after seeing the pedigree of the firm's senior team.
If you suck senior cock as much as I think you do as exhibited by your post, then I think you'll do well in the UMM PE firm. In PowerPoint presentations, your title will be the junior cock sucker.
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Not really related to what you said but I have sent so many cold emails+ hopped on network calls trying to land a boutique internship... idk what I’m doing wrong. Would you be able to give me some advice on how to be successful in this process?
Not the right thread for that buddy
I see where you come from, but I don't agree 100%.
I go to a target business school (UVA, UMich, wharton, Stern, etc...) where a lot of people would loose a leg for a BB IB M&A job (Obviously a hyperbole). These students know exactly what they're getting into. As much as it sucks, they did it to themselves. And literally hundreds of kids would do anything to be in their role, especially since there is a proven path to making over $1,000,000 in 10 years.
That's exactly why I am doing consulting instead of IB. I knew I was ok with long hours, but I didn't want the insane 90+ hour weeks and not get weekends. People should do more introspection on what they are willing to take on/handle and not just follow the herd mentality of "everyone is doing this so I should."
However, here is where I disagree with you.
Just because people make a lot of money doesn't mean that the treatment is ok. Privileged people have hearts, feelings, mental health issues, and minds just like everyone else. Does being privileged make bad treatment ok? Cursing at employees, giving them unrealistic deadlines, and giving people last minute work to do on a Friday night is not exactly the most humane way to go.
Interestingly, One person in the Goldman survey said working at Goldman was worse than foster care. Does he seem like he's privileged?
That's the weirdest assortment of target schools I've ever seen
Mate you gotta have some sex
This is a dorky, boastful post, no different than most of the vomit that's become popular on LinkedIn. Try to get laid. You're going to break a rib sucking your dick this hard.
EDIT: I saw OP updated his post. For what it's worth to you, OP, and anyone throwing monkey shit at this, I come from a background "less privileged" than yours (first-gen immigrant born into a civil war, parents spoke little English, household took in little more than the poverty line, went to community college) but I don't dwell on it or confuse my roots as some weird qualification to decide where the line of entitlement gets drawn. Hating on others for deciding the life:money balance tradeoff didn't make sense for them is weak and reveals poor form.
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Nobody gives a fuck about your background
Love the post, SB’d. Keep killing it OP. Can relate to your story.
Another person with very little emotional intelligence. You talk about how you're not a spoon-fed rich kid but then are using your background to shame people for wanting a culture that literally doesn't involve them working for 100 hours as well. I'm glad that you can take care of your mom--good for you, but you seem like an absolute asshole of a person to be around. But seriously, nobody gives a fuck about your background man, cry me a river. Why don't you fuck off you entitled jackass. YES ENTITLED. Because you talk like because you didn't grow up rich, you're entitled to have the final verdict on this issue that everyone has a right to complain about. Shit wasn't easy for me either growing up, nor is it easy for me now. Don't hear me out here trying to bury people for wanting better cultures.
Also, this guy used every singly WSO tiering/abbreviation in the books in this post lmao. Who the fuck seriously describes where they're from as a "tier 2 city" lmao.