Building Models and Decks is Harder Than Performing Heart Surgery

I’m tired of the narrative that being a doctor is the pinnacle of hard work and responsibility. Let’s break this down objectively.

Doctors, specifically heart surgeons, spend years in school, practice on simulations, and operate in fully controlled environments. The room is quiet. The patient is asleep. There’s a highly trained team assisting them. They’re using tools designed for precision with clear protocols to follow. If they mess up, yes, there are real consequences, but they’ve had years of preparation for that exact moment.

Meanwhile, I’m in the office at 2:47 AM, 37 hours deep into a live sell-side, with six different versions of a CIM open, three models running, and an MD asking me why our adjusted EBITDA doesn’t foot because the buyer cares about 2027E margin compression. The VP wants the deck “cleaner” but won’t explain what that means. Every cell in my model is one bad formula away from nuking the entire deliverable.

I have less than 24 hours to become a world-class expert in an industry I didn’t even know existed last week. There’s no simulation. There’s no practice round. My tools are Excel and PowerPoint, both of which were probably last updated when I was still in high school. If I mess up, we lose a mandate, reputations get destroyed, and millions of dollars are on the line.

Doctors have malpractice insurance. I have Outlook reminders, two coffees, and the hope that my VP doesn’t CC the client when roasting my work.

The reality is simple. Performing heart surgery? High stakes, sure, but controlled environment, clear training path, predictable structure.

Building models and decks at 3 AM under artificial deadlines with zero margin for error? That’s real pressure.

But sure, tell me again how being a doctor is harder.