Happiest, Most Rewarding Experiences of Your life

I wanted to take a break from from all the negativity in the world and read about some good times.  For me, without thinking about it too much, it was when my son, made a comeback as  a pitcher in baseball.  He went from not being able to get anyone out to becoming the best pitcher on his team.  He dropped out of baseball leagues for 3 years but practiced in the backyard and developed some speed on a fastball and a pretty good curve.  

For me personally, I was super happy when I passed each level of the CFA exams, especially the first one because it was new experience.  It was very rewarding to know that the sacrifice let to good results.

28 Comments
 

Being a first a generation immigrant, getting into college was rewarding. Kind of cliche, I know, but my parents gave up everything they knew to come to the states. So getting into college here was the first step in me letting them know it wasn’t for nothing.

In the years to come my brother and I will most likely buy them a house. So that is a rewarding experience I’m looking forward too.

 

Yeah, I can see how that would be a big accomplishment.  My family has been in  the US for a long time, so I was not the first one to go to college in my family.  I was the first one to go to grad school, though. 

 
Most Helpful

This is going to sound corny but discovering WSO and being able to learn without being judged is very rewarding.

I'm a broke first gen student and my family has zero knowledge of finance so i'm grateful that people in the industry take time out of their busy lives to post and explain topics, it motivates me and gives me hope that one day i can make it from nothing. 

 

Birth of my kid was much more rewarding than any work related milestones, so that’s mine. She is turning into a very sweet human being despite my best efforts.

 

I played on a Bantam A hockey team that won the state championship in a state where hockey's a pretty big deal (teammate is currently an NHL captain and most went on to play D1). At the time, I played basically 7 days a week almost all year and to have all the hard work come together for a moment like that is a memory I'll never forget. I look forward to when I have kids - that hopefully want to play hockey - and get to play in my home rink where our banner hangs. Not to be that guy stuck in the "glory days" lmao but it was an incredible experience

Monkey see. Monkey Doo [Doo].
 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

That is cool.  I can kind of relate to the dedication to sports.  I have always been very disciplined at things that I have enjoyed and sports has always been a passion of mine.  My main sport was baseball (Where I grew up, we did not have much ice, haha) and worked very hard at it. I spent a lot of time in batting cages and on practice fields.

 

Small and kinda silly thing - but just re-watched American Beauty a week ago. I'm 20 y/o now, and I watched it for the 1st time when I was 15 - thought it was good. This time though it was GREAT - one of my all-time favorites now. I identified so much with Kevin Spacey character's frustration. Definitely not the happiest/most rewarding experience (can't think of anything) but I haven't felt this good in a while.

Thanks for this post - we need more positivity in life for sure.

 

The happiest and most fulfilled I’ve felt looking back was when I took a plane for the first time to begin college here in US. I kept thinking about how I had exceeded all my childhood expectations...the bar was clearly low. I never dreamed about going to America. It felt too unattainable to even be made a goal. I do not exaggerate when I say that where I grew up America is this perfect place we see in movies but will probably never get to visit. My mother just couldn’t believe it when I got my college offers. As the plane took off in my small, very unknown, African country, I vowed to make the most of my 4 years. I’m a junior now and I’m so proud of how well I’ve adjusted and thankful for all the friends that have made me feel at home. Occasional racism aside, I’d say Americans are very friendly and eager to help.

 

Getting a black belt . I had trained for so many years, and it was nice to hit that milestone. Humility would have us consider it just a milestone and you're supposed to look past it, but the truth is it still felt huge to me. Kind of was the mark of moving from student to instructor. Plus I'm such a physically un-gifted and awkward guy, always picked last for sports and teased growing up, so this was kind of like proving to myself I could hit a mark of physical performance. And I had torn my achilles tendon twice and had to delay the test by a year due to these injuries, so when I finally did test and pass it was a big deal. My mom who never really took interest in sports drove up 8 hours to show up for the test, and cried during the exam. It was a great milestone in my life and felt like a real accomplishment. 

 

Stealing my dad's bank info to wire half of my An1 bonus to his account. He purchased the biggest TV he could find. He's currently the official host of family Super Bowls. 

 

Ut dolores commodi qui ut doloremque. Eos nostrum autem numquam nisi. Eveniet nostrum quod fugiat magnam excepturi eligendi aspernatur.

Nesciunt incidunt accusantium voluptas recusandae. Qui mollitia illo sunt vero dolorem at. Nisi non consequatur facere cupiditate id. Et aliquid omnis error.

Et omnis excepturi repudiandae voluptas. Aliquid minus esse sint sed minima iure deserunt. Et saepe molestiae velit sunt. Dicta suscipit id vel minus ratione. Illo voluptas repellendus magnam odio unde beatae. Est aut perspiciatis mollitia aut.

Voluptatem sapiente temporibus sed quia vitae. Sint perferendis fugit provident dignissimos. Similique quae consequatur at fuga ab.

 

Hic sapiente et saepe cum quibusdam architecto quis et. Rerum ipsam reprehenderit vel est quo tempora reprehenderit voluptatum.

At officiis consequatur fuga. Ea atque sunt commodi autem sunt adipisci. Autem maxime maiores aspernatur sit qui sit voluptas.

Aspernatur similique nulla aperiam quaerat iure aliquid labore. Ut inventore voluptatem est perspiciatis. Et impedit alias vero fugiat cumque. Deserunt sint commodi expedita eaque autem.

Consequatur eveniet explicabo consectetur aut. Autem rerum dolore accusamus quia nisi mollitia voluptatem. Assumenda voluptatum quidem tempora animi aut.

Dayman?

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”