Sacrificing 20s

I worked a lot in my early to mid 20s (in my early 30s now). Honestly didn't miss much those first couple of years. I felt like every year of my 20s after about 24/25 got better and better.

If you want to work a ton and still have a social life, you need to prioritize it. I got rid of cable, stopped playing video games and threw a lot of my hobbies on the back burner for a while.

Yes it's worth it, especially if you're coming from more humble beginnings.  

20s can be your best years, but in the vast majority of cases, they rarely are for anybody.  Nobody knows what they're doing really, and those years between 22-26 are prone to getting wasted even if you don't have a demanding career.  It makes sense to put the foot on the gas till atleast about 26-27 as a result.  

OP - completely agree with the top-upvoted post above, i.e. I don't think this is something you should worry about too much. Just to add my view based on my own personal experience (I'm in my early 30s now, worked in IB followed by MM PE) -

- Firstly, I personally don't think you even need to start worrying about this until you're in your late 20s, as the opportunity cost at that age is comparatively really low. I.e. most people 21-25yrs old, what are they really doing with their spare time? Watching Netflix, going to the gym, hanging out for drinks with their buddies etc. Of course these are important (especially things like the gym) to your mental well-being, but at the same time the opportunity cost to working long hours is comparatively very low in your early 20s.

E.g. you don't have kids, your friends are probably going out almost every week, so whilst working on the weekend isn't fun - what else would you have been doing instead? Getting smashed with your buddies at a bar Friday/Saturday night, and then binge-watching Better Call Saul on a hangover all next day? I'm not making light of these activities (spending time with your friends is very important) but equally if you miss one weekend then you can always go out with them next time. Equally whilst working late in the week isn't fun by any means, what would you have been doing on a Wednesday evening if you finished at 5pm every day in a super-chill job? Probably not that much. And the trade/upside is you're getting a huge amount of experience that will set you up for the rest of your career. Also as the poster above points out, you can still do things like go on vacations, date people and have weekends away - it's just a bit (ok a lot) harder. And the fact that you're very well-paid compared to most people your age means you can really enjoy that time (e.g. you don't fret about the cost of taking a hot date out to a fancy restaurant to impress her, if you have to fly out later than your buddies to meet them on a holiday you can upgrade yourself to business/first-class etc).

- You're in it together with your fellow analysts, which helps it feel like a (less fun) extension of college. So whilst you might be stuck working till midnight or later Mon-Thurs, you're also in the office with loads of guys your age. Meaning you will inevitably grab dinner together, talk random shit together, and go out to blow off steam together - for example when I was in the office till after midnight on a Friday with a few other guys working on some shitty pitch, even if it was 1am we would often go to some random bar and down a load of shots together just to blow off steam! So being in the foxhole with guys your age makes it feel like an extension of college - a lot less fun admittedly but still better than 90% of jobs in terms of camaraderie, plus you have a lot more money in your pocket compared to college! I still hang out with some of those guys today nearly 10 years later. Although, that leads me on to my next point:

- Once you get into your late 20s/early 30s, the equation starts to shift (as the opportunity cost goes steadily up). By that I mean that you might be in a long-term relationship and want to start a family, and just as importantly so will your friends - meaning that unlike when you're 21 and can meet up with your bros that very same night with a couple of text messages, married guys (especially with kids) need a huge amount of notice to plan stuff. Speaking from experience here, in many cases meeting up with friends is something that has to be planned weeks in advance once you get into your 30s - so if you get stuck working late and have to miss it, then it sucks infinitely more than in your early 20s when you can just meet up with them the following weekend.

- Having said that, I personally have zero regrets about working really hard in my 20s. I'm now in the position where I'm making $350-400k working 60-65 hrs a week, own a nice 2-bed condo in a HCOL city, drive a nice car and take exotic/lavish vacations I could only dream about when I was a kid. Whereas some of the people I knew from high school/college who took the "easy" route (in quotes here as there's no "right" answer to living your life/career, it depends on the individual) are in generic corporate jobs making just over $100k with 2 kids to feed, and I personally would much rather be in my shoes.

So yeah OP, to summarise up my ramblings I would say that it's 100% your life/your choice, but personally I don't think you should even worry about "missing out" on life until you reach your late 20s. Honestly whilst it might feel terrible at the time missing out on some random party you couldn't attend as a 23yr old, but trust me at that age there will inevitably be another one next week/next month. And as the guy above said, working in IB/PE doesn't mean you can't join your bros for important holidays/vacations etc, it's just the daily grind which will be a lot tougher. But unless you're someone with a hundred different hobbies, how would you even fill all your time as a 23yr old finishing at dead-on 5pm every day? You'd get to watch a lot more Netflix but I'm not sure you would be living a much more "fulfilled" life. Good luck anyway OP with your studies and your career.

Edit: would just add (as I re-read your OP about coping with missing your 20s) that if you're successful and relatively happy in your job, your 30s are just as good (if not better than) your 20s. Both in terms of dating (I actually find it easier as a relatively successful guy in my early 30s than I did in my 20s!) and also having more money, and most importantly knowing who you are. And at some point hopefully I'll meet someone and have kids which will be another exciting new chapter of my life. So whilst I have lots of great memories from my 20s (and am very grateful for that), in no way am I pining for the days when I was 21 again. Getting older has its drawbacks but also lots of benefits - if anything I'm glad that I'm not a guy who slacked off in his 20s and wished he'd worked harder!