Are there any good options?
I don't understand how people enjoy this line of work. Maybe nobody does and everyone is purely in it for the money, but what the heck is enjoyable about this? I am a student at a mid-tier school and finished up my IB internship this past summer at a mid-tier bank. I hated going to work every single day and constantly prayed for the minute that I would be let out. I got out of shape, was mentally miserable, and genuinely despised the tedious tasks I was assigned to do. The exits from my group consist mainly of MM and a few decent UMM. I do not understand what people are supposed to do in finance anymore. You either work 90+ hours a week and hate your life for years on end, or you end up doing some crappy job in corporate finance and hope to climb some bureaucracy-ridden ladder for the rest of your life. And yes, I was good at my job and received a return offer despite my hatred for it. I am genuinely seeking advice. It seems as though even if you tough it out for two years (which is not a short amount of time) you are still hoping to land a PE gig, which is ultimately just more tedious, menial work until you reach a senior level at ~30 years old. I don't come from any money whatsoever and am certainly grateful for the opportunity I currently have, but I can't help but feel I am wasting my life away. I love to travel and explore, and I am very entrepreneurial (very unique, I know). Is there some sort of happy medium where you can do something at least partially interesting, make a decent salary, and enjoy your life? Please give me any sort of advice or guidance, I have been so unhappy about the prospect of graduating and spending the next ~8 years in excel sheets while my twenties pass me by.
This is a very understandable perspective and I'm not trying to undercut that, but I fucking love excel.
Maybe try working in Europe for a few years if you're able? Fewer hours and much more vacation time (and better vacation destinations). The nature of the work is the nature of the work though, not much to be done about that.
LO AM
How do you find these roles? It seems like there are almost no seats at all in LO AM.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some insights and advice for your situation:
Balancing Career Choices:
Career Satisfaction:
Long-Term Perspective:
Finding a Happy Medium:
Meaningful Work:
For more detailed discussions and personal experiences, you can explore the following WSO threads: - https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/who-is-happy-s…</a">Who is happy & satisfied with their current role? - https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/is-ib-not-as-a…</a">Is IB not as attractive anymore? - https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/why-work-the-b…</a">Why work the best years of our lives away? - https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/are-you-guys-h…</a">Are you guys happy with life? Help me please.
These threads provide a variety of perspectives and might help you find the guidance you're seeking.
Sources: Are you guys happy with life? Help me please., Who is happy & satisfied with their current role?, Who is happy & satisfied with their current role?, Why work the best years of our lives away?, Are you guys happy with life? Help me please.
i mean not every job is meant for every person, you know? i say that as somebody that gave banking a go and decided it wasn’t for me. that’s okay! there are literally dozens of careers out there in finance alone - investment banking is just 1 of those careers. not to mention the thousands of non-finance careers that exist.
you might be surprised (i was) to find that there are some real … interesting … people out there that genuinely love finance/ib/dealmaking. other people are genuinely motivated by making very high risk-adjusted salaries. the vast majority of people, though, fall somewhere between tolerating it and outright hating it.
sounds cliche but maybe listen to your heart telling you this job may not be a good fit for you. if you hate every waking moment of a job - that’s not a good thing! i told my heart to suck it up for a couple of years to make some money, other people suck it up for much longer or much less. it really is ultimately up to you. happy to chat more if you want to dm.
Stop complaining and go into tech like everyone else. I’m being deadass. You’re in school, go do a masters in data science or computer science or something. Work 5 hours a day and get paid over $200k. I’m being completely serious that’s what I would do in your position.
Is this still the current job market in tech? I know layoffs hit pretty hard since a lot of people at places like Google and Twitter were barely working and making huge $$$ (and tiktoks about how ridiculously easy their lives were)
I can’t speak to it but everyone I knew from school who was looking for a tech job landed a tech job. The IB job market was just as bad as the tech one back then by the way. If you’re hardworking enough to break into high finance then I don’t see why you would be one of the bottom half of people who struggle to land a job in tech - just look at how many more positions there are. Also most of the people I heard who got laid off back then were able to find something relatively quickly.
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