(serious) can't shake shitty feeling from not working at a T1 bank

Are you really a second year analyst? Don't you have buyside recruiting or work to worry about?

CIMs and data rooms look the same at Goldman TMT for what it’s worth. Focus on the good in your life, including your education, employment, and health.

no judgment here - just cause something may seem completely illogical to someone else doesn’t change the way that you feel. everyone’s got their own demons.

but I would say negative feelings are all in the mentality and how you look at things. I had a mentor tell me that if you only look for the bad things that’s all you’ll ever see. everyday at work make a deliberate effort to find one thing you learned/did better and one thing you’re grateful for. also make a deliberate effort to look at someone who has it worse than you and actually say to yourself “wow I’ve got it pretty good.” that dude from non-target who worked his ass off for a no-name tiny ass bank and just got laid off cause of covid def has it worse right now.

also a blanket recommendation I routinely give out to people who are down on things: read Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. it’s a pretty quick read and really makes you reevaluate how you perceive hardship.

I am going into Equity Research. Tends to pay a bit less than IB and I’m hoping to work MM in the midwest. I could go into IB if I wanted and chose not to- not good lifestyle at all imo. And you know what? I don’t give a damn what Chadwick or his father who runs the most successful PE firm in the country think about me. I have a better job than 95% of Americans and a better lifestyle in my opinion than anyone in IB. I’m not friends with people because of their job or because of where they work. I’m happy for everyone wherever they end up so long as they’re happy. Please know that some people might look down on you- but 99% of people will not and these are the real ones. Don’t bother with the fakes who will look down at you (and 99% of everyone else)- they’ll die one day too and the difference is you’ll actually have friends at your funeral.

I feel the same way with my SA offer - surprised to see I may feel this way for a while.

How is your buy side offer?

Use that shitty feeling as motivation to kick the other guys' asses. Get that promotion, get that lateral, get that buyside offer, whatever it may be. Beat 'em.

Nice post troll. Get a life!

Maybe college was your peak....

I think a good thing to do when you get yourself into a mental hole like this is the "why" exercise. Most of the times, the things that bother us are not the root cause of our irritation, and trying to solve one manifestation of it isn't going to change the general dissatisfaction. For instance, in this case, your "why's" could look something like this :

• I worry about being at a mid tier bank
  • Why do I care about that?
• Because I think it implies X,Y, and Z about me
  • Why do I think it implies these things?
• Because… blah blah blah

...and on it goes. Ultimately, feelings of inferiority due to external factors can come from everything from your career to your future house to the clothing you wear. If you don't adress the actual root of the issue, it's just going to continue to present itself in different scenarios.

Is "prestige" really everything? I'm a prospect and I've done my best to not let the prestige b*tches on this forum get in my head during recruiting because from what I hear during networking is that no one cares about that stuff once you're in.

If that's your priority then I understand why you would feel that way, but if you like your bank culturally and the job itself then I feel like you could focus your attention towards those positives rather than focus on others who may be at more "prestigious" banks because they may be hating their experience since they chose "prestige" over where they'd fit in the most/be happiest.

Not falling for this troll post, not sure why everyone else thinks it’s serious

lmfao first off, everyone took the bait, nice try tards you're feeding the troll

second, I'm gonna jump in too because might as well meme back. If this is ACTUALLY true, thank you for making me feel extra competent, as we both seem to have ended at relatively the same place and I started off way worse than you. You dropped more money and had to try harder, yet look at us: same bank.

why not try to lateral to a 1st tier firm now?

Employees at those mid tier banks are people too!!

the best way to get something in life is to deserve it - Charlie Munger

Imagine: You grew up in a middle class family with both parents working in respectable industries. You tried harder in college than most of your friends and get a job at a “mid tier bank” making more money than your parents ever thought was possible at your age. You go into the office early on your first day to make a good impression, and then you meet this guy.

hey OP my anecdotal contribution here of having gone from a boutique to one of these said banks: it is what you make it. Through networking I’ve met people at BBs who couldn’t hold a candle, in terms of industry knowledge and self actualization, to top performers at unknown boutiques. I know it sounds dumb and cliche, but if you’re competitive and always looking at someone else’s lawn there will always be stuff left to be desired. Use that competitive spirit to kill it at work - but don’t let it come at the cost of your personal relationships, the work/life balance that makes you feel accomplished but also socially stimulated (different for everyone), most importantly your mental and physical health.

I was as in it for the money/prestige as anybody initially, but at the end of the day we all want more of it because we want qualitative improvements in our lives and that’s something I feel many (me included) forget we can do every day regardless of our situation.

I’ll get off my soapbox now.

OP, to be honest, you should be more ashamed of this post than your lack of prestige in banking... no, seriously, I mean it

"Analyst 2 in IB-M&A" I'm someone who is super competitive . . I can't help but feel shitty that I'm at a "mid tier bank"

Those two don't go together. A super competitive person wouldn't be worried about something as small as the tier of his bank. He'd be obsessed with accomplishing some bigger goal . . making a few billion, saving the world, etc. Falling a few inches behind in the rat race is the last thing truly competitive people worry about. There's bigger fish to fry.

So either you're actually competitive, but have become uncharacteristically sidetracked into focusing on the little stuff . . or you're not really that competitive in which case its more reasonable that you'd be interested in things like the logo on your business card.

Both types are fine but you'll be happier if you figure out which one you really are.

Maybe you aren't that competitive.

I think you should start seeing down more than up.

Helps to reforge your perspective in life. Grass is greener on the other side.

You are being too hard on yourself, to satisfy your insecurity, on which came from trying to please/showoff to people you don't like.

Have a beer, put on Netflix and enjoy your life.

I like to be a ‘glass half full kind of guy’

For example, you’re probably a tier 3 person and you’ve actually overachieved and made it to tier 2. Congrats!

I said this in the other thread but though you came from a target, you probably didn't go to H or S. Are you still insecure about that? Why not? And if you're not, then I'm sure you were in college. This is just a sign that you are insecure and not confident in yourself. we all are competitive but you have to try your hardest and be happy with where you are in life. There willl always be someone better than you and you never know if you would even be happy in their shoes. Perhaps those banks would have had terrible culture or WL balance that would have made you get depressed. Be grateful for where you are in lfe. Things happen for areason.

Make more friends outside of Finance, it'll put a lot of things in perspective.

This is like going to Columbia/Penn CAS and dying inside because you don't go to HYPSW

i don’t even have an internship let alone a job.

Cant say anything better than this... - from someone who's been laughed at for trying to break in to IB. Stay Blessed man.