After 2 years in IB, I decided to give up buy side recruitment and moved to corporate banking instead. Work is still busy and driven by deal flow but Instead of pulling 80-110 hours consistently every week I now do 65 hours or so. I hope this will come down a bit once I got the hang of everything.
I still feel pretty traumatised by my IB time. I'm still feeling constantly unhappy. Even if this job has better hours, it's still highly driven by deal flow, like in IB. I still can't make plans easily during the week. People still don't respect your weekend. As a result, my mind keeps snapping back to when I was in IB. I hate it.
I used to be ambitious and hard working. And I used to work late because I wanted to do more (I was in a diff industry before banking). Now I work because I have to and there is work to do. I guess I'm sad to say I'm very traumatised by my time in IB. My mind gets triggered nowadays if I have to work past 10pm or whenever there is a firedrill. My instant reaction would be "this is happening again. I need to get out. This doesn't feel right" I was not like this.I'm sure a lot of you might feel this way so I thought I would post the question and see how you guys got over it. I thought I would feel much better mentally as soon as I leave IB but two months later I'm still as traumatised as ever. Maybe the fact that I'm still in banking does it (I'm in a BB where CB and IB are clubbed together)
Edit: I didn’t expect to have a good laugh from such depressing post. Thanks guys. Ya all fucking shitheads and legends at the same time
Totally
Suffered from it pretty badly during my gardening leave. The overall feeling that other jobs "might be just as bad as IB" never really left me during that period.
At the same time, my new job (PE) is miles better than IB with good culture, reasonable hours and an interesting sector focus. However, it will probably still take another half a year or so until I am fully back to normal.
I suppose many people share this feeling - I know a PE partner who still complains about his awful analyst years and how redundant the pain seems in hindsight.
Mindful that this guy is super successful, opened up a new office for his firm and has done just great since.
curious how many hours you work on avg and if you're at lmm/mm/umm?
Had my stint at a BB bank - worked on average from 9.30am to 2.00am. However, there were some brutal projects where I pulled an all-nighter every week and had to travel all the time. Oh yeah, besides being treated like a slave from the client.
Now working at a TMT PE fund (UMM buyouts + Growth Equity) which is a million times better.
You don't have ptsd from your two year banking stint.
You can develop PTSD from any traumatic events / experience
I'm very aware. Banking is not a traumatic experience.
I like how the shit icon turns green when I fling a shit at you
Uh it definitely can be. I have already heard multiple stories this summer alone of people getting reamed, embarrassed in front of the whole trading floor, screamed at, told they're incompetent, etc. both in markets and traditional IB. Not everyone is a hardo, some people have other reasons for going into IB or they're just testing it out and aren't sold yet. I'm hearing about girls crying 3x a day in the bathroom at some shops. You boomers and your hand-waving for unacceptable BS because you had to go through it is hilarious. Our generation has more self-respect. This rite of passage shit is outdated and cringe
Gen Z is soft
I wish I was a more morally advanced person so as to see all of intergenerational human suffering reflected in every human's individual sorrow and to have ultimate compassion for every being and to not cast judgement and cross reference people's individual life experiences with my own. But I'm just not. I'm working on it, but I am not there. As I live and breathe today, in 2021 - the year of our lord and savior Jesus h Christ - I believe in my heart of hearts you're just a pussy and you should do more hard things.
Getting yelled at in front of other people is traumatizing now? Jesus christ you are a pussy.
The actually qualified Asian males they took a spot from wouldn’t do this
Guys, I found it- the softest comment on WSO! Buddy, if you want a beanbag, a nap room, and a HR rep to tell you that you are the most special wittle boy in the world, go to tech or Big 4. Gen Z is the worst (and softest) thing to come out of America in a long time.
It is if you worked at BofA in the 70s or officed in WTC
Ignore Goldie, he works in residential RE (or worked, supposedly he blew up his company) and his wife has some shitty side podcast. He's at best some rando beta liberal who's a few degrees separated from the average shitposter at this point.
Lifetime Presents: Surviving IB
I think dad jokes are pretty underrated actually.
I don’t have PTSD but the motherfuckers in IB I skeet skeeted probably do
I had PTSD too starting out at my job but I decided to become better at my job and start sucking my boss’s dick
This is not Nam, it’s investment banking - get over yourself
says the fag in ER who gets off at 6pm everyday with a nice 2 day weekend
gotta love fags who rip on others for actually having a life
oooo but you work in ib though so that's sick.....right?
Look! The worker is bragging about the same system that exploits them!
If your going to be homophobic could you please post it under your real user name?
lol butthurt
Why
Are you gonna stalk me and come suck my dick?
Yes
get diagnosed at your doctor and raise a formal grievance. they might pay you to prevent you taking them to tribunal. up to 6 month salary. depends where you are located.
Soft ass euros, mans.
Hahaha. Tribunal
OP + most comments here = perfect representation of gen z
if you think you have actual, diagnosed PTSD from banking then you're retarded
if you can't understand why people would use it in a non-literal, colloquial fashion then you're autistic
┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘
Hence the quotation marks in title. The trama was real tho
Probably one of the only serious replies on this thread, but have been there as well as tons of friends and coworkers. It hits hard, especially when you're used to being ambitious. I seriously recommend you consider therapy, living in fear of your job is not a normal relationship with work and could lead to serious career burnout. The answer for you might end up being leaving banking altogether for a predictable 40hr job, but therapy also helps teach a new mental framework that can help deal with this type of stress. Don't let yourself languish too long like this without help.
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imagine knowing IB has crazy hours then being confused when it actually has crazy hours.
Amen
Wait banking has crazy hours? I thought it was a 9-5 with nothing unpredictable.
Didn't expect this reply to be so long, but felt like I can help your perspective here. I can relate to many several things you have said. But buddy - you don't have PTSD from banking. People have been kidnapped, tortured, shot/ shot at, loved ones dying next to them- these are experiences that cause crippling PTSD. You really just need to harden the fuck up and make some choices. Realize that first, your job doesn't define you (if it does, much bigger demons at play). Btw 65 hours on average, imo, is not sustainable if you want time spent with hobbies, friends, and family (all keys to happiness). Also - wtf are you doing in corporate banking for 65 hours a week?
If you decide to gtfo, switch jobs, take 3 months off to travel and DEFINE YOUR VALUES. It's clear by your post that you don't have a defined value system because such a system should have steered you away from taking another gig that makes you miserable. You need to spend good, hard alone time thinking "what defines me" and "what are the 3-5 most important things in my life?". Mine are family, friends, fitness, integrity, and financial security. Once i figured these out and stuck to them, the roadmap to life became much easier (and so does working to attain these things)
If 65 hours a week is too much for you, if being in a deal-oriented space is too much for you, GTFO of it. There's no shame in not wanting to grind your life away. Hell, I did it. I had a hell of a banking gig and a 500 hour month broke my will to just grind away endlessly. Also made me realize there is more to life. Switched from banking and PE to a credit fund which is relatively chill (50 hours week avg and up to 70-80 when its time to grind) and is the sweet spot for me. Lets me do hobbies and spend time w family, but also gives me a sense of accomplishment and financial security.
Finally, if you want a simple, easy-to-follow life roadmap to gain self-worth and happiness, just do everything opposite of what the Gen-z norms are. That will be a great start!
What are some of the premier credit funds that still have good WLB (50-60 hrs avg)? I know of HPS / Ares / GSO / Apollo and others that have a great reputation but have similar hours to regular way PE.
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