Monday-Friday work work work. Maybe get in 2-3 workouts, make dinner 1-2 times otherwise it's all the same. Saturday/Sunday try to get more sleep, do all my chores, workout, maybe spend some time either with family or going out with friends. Maybe go on a quick run to see some nature. That's about it. Fit in a date here and there. Passing through life like this feels like it's a waste
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| +18 | London's future as a financial centre | 18 | 3d |
| +12 | Playing the $10K WSOP Main this year in Vegas | 0 | 6h |
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| +5 | get a model before you model | 3 | 3d |
| +5 | Pity that RU athletes can still compete | 2 | 10h |
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Imagine this but in a coal mine or on a roof slinging shingles
I mean it could for sure be worse but I don't think comparing to worse examples is the right way to make progress
In this case, comparing is the way. Even in coal mines or putting shingles on a roof, you accomplish something tangible for the day. You feel complete. Tired but happy to get through another day.
Now imagine going to decades of school to be a spinal or neurosurgeon, then go through residency hell and then more school after that for specialty, just to get through all of that and then one day during an extremely long surgery knick something with the scalpel that you're not supposed to cut and end up killing or worse (in my book) paralyzing the person. You have to live with that for life. Then go through malpractice court and defend your ability to just pick up the scalpel again.
No dude, by comparison sitting in a cube until you get sleepy is quite tame.
Think this just ultimately comes down to not being passionate about your role. Small minority of people love IB and the life that they have outside of it. Others are OK or worse with the concept of working in IB and hate the life they have outside of it because, for them, they feel like they are being robbed of a more interesting life experience. I know that’s not what you said directly but the fact you’re self-reflecting or “disassociating” kind of alludes to not feeling satisfied with your current job.
I know it’s not that helpful but ultimately the fulfilment and pride you feel doing your job day in day out will seep into everything else you do outside of work. I say this as someone with a similar structure of life (seemingly) to you but i guess im on the other side of the spectrum where i quite enjoy how things are at the moment, for me the trade offs are okay.
Nobody fucking likes IB you delusional first year
Del
Similar to the answer above, it comes down to passion either within work or outside work. IB quickly minimizes your time to do passions outside of work due to sheer number of hours you're working. I'm not in IB but working in ER has similar hour commitments (highly dependent on analyst) so my passions have also taken a hit. At the end of the day you should choose to either find a job that you feel more passionate about (could be anything really) or move to a job that gives back your time to find a passion outside of work. I'm currently going through some soul searching to figure this out myself.
I work in consulting (not MBB) so my hours aren’t nearly as bad as yours, but I feel the same way a lot of the time. Truth is, you need to make your life fulfilling, which honestly I’m still working on myself.
Like some people above said, if you’re like me and view your job as a means to an end (instead of something you actually enjoy), you need to make life fulfilling outside of work. I’ve been starting to go to the gym and take my diet really seriously, play chess in my free time, and actually seriously try to meet a girl (instead of just chasing hookups like I did in undergrad). Idk what the answer is for you, but you gotta find something to do in the little free time you get that gets you excited
Depressing because of an ongoing problem that's out of my control (traumatizing and incredibly exhausting to deal with). Not so much because of my mundane schedule.
Thinking of seeking therapy to help mitigate some of the feelings I have now that I have health insurance again with my new job.
Re above comments, even if you don’t really like IB / are not passionate about it, your life won’t fully feel like a waste if you have / pursue meaningful relationships and things that genuinely make you really happy. Sure work may not be as fulfilling in that case but if you have a person you love waiting for you at home or are looking forward to some plans you made for that weekend (which you didn’t make because it’s your “weekly routine”, and “that’s what everyone does”, but rather because you genuinely want to do whatever it is and it gives you energy/happiness/etc), then at least some time of your week won’t feel “depressing”
Life in IB is like an LBO model—if you don’t build in the right assumptions (passions, relationships, purpose), the whole thing eventually collapses. Either you optimize the structure or accept that your best exit is burnout.
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