How do I find my purpose in life?

I'm a young student who has recently grown accustomed to the high finance community to some extent - wanting to break in for reasons that most people don't admit. I loved seeing the status and money that came along with working a prestigious role and getting the opportunity to live in a big city, but recently I've started to question if all this is worth it. Countless hours of networking, practicing technicals, and interviewing - just for some job that I know deep down will not satisfy my soul as a human being. I'm grateful to be in a position where I can even consider these roles - but I'm worried I will regret not following my passions especially in the prime of my youth - and instead waste my time on mindless 80+ work weeks throughout my early 20s. The point I'm trying to get to is if anyone really feels satisfied having worked in this industry? I would appreciate any advice from some who has been in a similar situation. 

3 Comments
 

I actually like finance. Why go into an industry you don’t enjoy? Follow your passion.

"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
 
Most Helpful

Get your two years on your resume, some money in your account, and try to figure out which type of person you are.

Some people don’t give a shit about what they do for a living, because it’s only a means to an end. They like nice houses, nice cars, nice vacations, etc. and a financial career is a great way to obtain those things. Other people are more mission or purpose driven, which you allude to, and require fulfillment in their career. Only by working for a while can you figure out who you actually are, but since you’re already talking about fulfillment at work, you probably already have an idea here. 

Also, stop thinking that “high finance” roles carry some prestige or outsized importance. Building a company from scratch is prestigious. Being a brain surgeon is prestigious. Finding a new scientific discovery that gets named after you is prestigious. Becoming an astronaut is prestigious. Playing around in Excel and PowerPoint stressing about meaningless details that the client won’t actually read, care about, or notice for 80+ hours a week is not prestigious. Circle jerking will cloud your perspective and prevent you from finding actual fulfillment. 

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