To quit or not to quit - advise the poorest rich man

Hey all

ASO 2 (prev. 2 yrs as an EB analyst) at a reputable UMM/MF PE/GE fund. Always thought this was the path I wanted to be on but over the summer realized this really isn’t for me.

Last year, I put in some YOLO wall street bets moves in play (options, meme coins). Through compound interest since I graduated + YOLO’ing, I’m fortunate to be sitting at around $1.25M cash (net of taxes). Feels like a huge # until you have it - it’s enough to be happy but not really enough to do anything?

My job feels like it’s a huge time sink-I’m not learning much and my incentives are misaligned (bonus is paid out, passed on for promo). 

Getting sick of the finance lifestyle. Should I say YOLO on my career and quit with nothing lined up, or should I keep my head down and grind out the program while plotting for a switch next Fall?

7 Comments
 

I was actually in a very similar position (down to the net worth $s) last year. I ended up quitting with nothing lined up. Not sure I’d recommend. I’m landing fine on my feet but it was actually stressful and a little depressing not having clear direction. 
 

Would start to figure out what you really want to do while you’re in your job 

 
Most Helpful

I was in finance from 2006-2010 then left to pursue art, poker, and working out of the country with my church. And spent a year in Neuroscience and many years in healthcare. I came back to a PE firm in 2022-2023, but it wasn't for me. I still like PE, but just not that company. Now possibly getting an MBA starting this year (if I get in) and going back to finance. I would prefer PE/VC/Corp Dev. I don't have the passion for finance I had in my 20s, but looking for interesting work that is challenging. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Interesting situation and congrats on being pretty wealthy at a young age. I don’t know much, but I think now would be a great time to further your education and take it from there. MBA may be the basic choice but you can do a more technical masters like MFE

 

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