A lot of times I have difficulty maintaining a positive attitude at work for a number of reasons. I know that as an analyst I'm not entitled to anything and I need to pay my dues and do the grunt work, but it's easier said than done. I often get frustrated by the mountain of dull and inane tasks that get dropped on my desk or by the endless rounds of making trivial and minute edits on a pitch deck that will never be read. I like the industry, and I'm interested in the work that we do, but it's really hard to see the bigger picture when your contributions are so menial in the grand scheme of things (maybe this is just a function of working at a big firm?).
Anyway, just looking for some perspective from anyone who's been through the gauntlet and learned to keep their poise despite getting shit hurled at them all day.
If you don't like it, just leave. This inudsty is thankless anyways and it's a sales job in the end. You'll act this way to your analyst if you ever get to be an MD.
this job sucks. Just like my bitter rival on this forum's user name, @fkbanking"
lol can second that. fuck banking
Oh, you hang out in the Off Topic forum too? Why did you not respond to me in the other thread?
Good to see we have at least one thing in common, rival.
I hate banking though I may be a top bucket analyst who will be promoted to Associate early.
I think I'm starting to develop good fellings for you.
couple things you could do
ensure the rest of your life is arranged in such a way that makes you happy. if you're in a bad relationship, have bad health, and so on, it makes it all the more difficult to be happy doing boring shit. on the flipside, if the vast majority of your "house" is clean, tending to the weeds and doing mundane shit isn't as bad
if it's not obvious, ask what your part of the project is doing to help the group's goals. sometimes it's just "it has to be done" or it could be "we're doing it this way because of XYZ" and it's an opportunity to learn. be curious, this could help
get a good grinding playlist. sometimes all you need is a little music to help you out
have something to look forward to on the weekend. even if you know you'll be working, maybe the weather's nice and you're going to be able to go for a nice long run. when you're waiting for your supervisor to return the edits, plan your route out, maybe there's a part of the city you haven't seen in a while. maybe you're breaking social distancing and have a hot date. shoot her/him some texts saying you're bored at work and thinking about them. nothing needy, just let them know you're excited to see them. maybe you're a UFC fan and pumped about some of the upcoming fights. talk shit on twitter about it (it's totally harmless, MMA twitter are an exciting bunch), make your picks, compare them with your friends, stuff like that. maybe you have a good book you've been reading and can't wait to pick it up during your next break. what you're doing is giving your brain a break from the task at hand. however you accomplish that, GOOD
grin & bear it. I used to be a secretary. answering phones, doing mundane shit like moving money, changing the order someone's accounts appear to them in our online portal, sending out faxes (yes, faxes), spending countless hours on hold with "help" desks, it blew a big bag of dicks sometimes. but if you have your life arranged well, if you focus on the long term, you realize that this is temporary, and going through mentally difficult shit will make you a better person (this is what "character" is called). I did this and got through it. I'd look forward to reading Security Analysis on my 30 minute lunch break, even though I barely understood the concepts at the time. I would talk shit with friends about college football recruiting, decide what provisions we needed for gameday, and plan out which bars we were going to on Friday. these conversations weren't long, but 3 minutes of nonstop group text shit talking can lighten the mood of anyone. I would sometimes find myself still laughing at shitty bets won and lost and the ensuing jokes/memes while doing something like...stuffing thousands of envelopes for our clients by hand (doesn't get more mundane than that).
life is full of dull and uninteresting things, that will never change. it is your choice whether you allow the mundane to occupy most of your thoughts, or if you only allow them to occupy your mind during which time you're completing those tasks. even if you have no control over your workflow and aren't in a position to leave your company, you still maintain control over your mind. use it.
This.
And to add. OP - life is all about the people. So for out of work time as short as it may be, try to make sure you surround yourself with people that you like. Family, friends, partners what have you. Building personal relationships is critical in life (professionally as well but there are too many threads for that). Don’t have friends in the city? Try to get out and do stuff so that you meet people doing something you like.
Don’t have enough time?
Fine. But I am sure that you can make time to call college friends or family just for a ten minute chat on the way home or whatever. Just to catch up. See how each other is doing. Talk about the game etc. makes a world of difference.
Good Luck
Thanks, this is a thoughtful perspective. My outside life has taken a hit since I started working so I will try to get this back on track
Happy to help, and if you need to dive into the specifics, I’m available
You become cynical and start letting out your frustrations and general weltschmerz through multiple bottles of fire water per week, the gym, Tinder thots and shiny things you purchase on midnight eBay auctions. Duh. This should be really obvious, bro.
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