Sharks and Bulls, what is it like to be you? Are you happy?
3 AM, I'm sitting in my mom's apartment's pitch-dark kitchen in a middle-budget area of Kazakhstan's capital, working on my internship assignment. In two weeks I'll be landing in Hong Kong to go on with my year 2 of college. Nothing exciting, considering that my degree is easily the toughest to be found in a 1000km radius. And I don't even know what I'm doing all this for.
My internship is unpaid, and had it been paid, the multi-billion family fund would've been giving me no more than $300-500 per month. Frankly, my internship turned into staring at my colleagues' emotionless faces all day long, Mon-Fri. The free-to-use coffee machine has been of tremendous help and much joy, but sometimes it seems like I'm coming to the office just for some free coffee, milk, and 29th-floor views. Yes, I got to touch on some projects, and even do some deep analysis on my own, but now we're off-cycle, we're all doing monkey business.
I don't have much in my mind about my future. The only fun thing I'm about to get busy with is trying to establish crypto miners export route from HK to Kazakhstan. The only lucrative thing I think I'll most probably face is the same job I'm doing now, but with a $100k+ paycheck. Would the paycheck make it better? I have no idea. My family is now living on $2-3k/mo. I'll probably buy a used Camry once I get my first paycheck, but I can't visualize being rich any further than that. Apartments? Girls? Resorts? I doubt that my workload would allow for the latter, I already have a girlfriend, and I don't really need an apartment larger than 1000sq ft (100 sq m).
Do I want to succeed? Hell yeas. But what do I see when I look at the successful finance guys I know? My company's bosses spend most of their time traveling across the globe and meeting investment seekers or attending professional conferences. Do I want to do the same thing? Maybe. Do I want to grind as long (they all are about 45-50 yo) and as hard as they did? Yes, this long and this hard, but for an outcome better than communication with those who actually own something while you don't.
So, sharks and bulls, what is it really like? What do you do with your bucks? What do you do with your life? Are you happy?
What else are you going to do with those 50-60 hours a week?
More importantly how does it differ from What are you going to do with your 40 hours at a ‘regular’ job and the 20 ‘free’ hours after? (20 hours of social media, Netflix and tv? Thats what the average person does with it.)
But aside from that…
people are in those positions because they’re hungry and have self selected for that work environment. The challenge and the victories just lead to wanting more most of the time(and the losses increase our resolve to try again and ‘prove something.’
We see threads about this all the time. “I make 1m a year but I don’t feel rich b/c the senior partner made 10m and has a yacht and 2 houses south of the highway and I only have a shack in Montauk.) Its silly and absurd but it gives meaning. I guess its like a hobby…
As to your last question: I’m not sure what you consider a shark or a bull...
Subjectively fun things to do with your money:
- Fine dining at Michelin Star regularly.
-Vacationing in peak season at the hottest locations (can be hotel, rentals, ownership or yacht as you scale up)
- Exotic travel and exotic hobbies:
- Want to Live out your Hemingway fantasy on the Serengeti? You can get drunk on daiquiris and fall asleep in a 4 star tent with a Maasai warrior standing between you and the lions’ gleaming eyes in the bush.
- Want a good steak and wine? Have Francis Mallman cook dinner and serve you wine on a mountain in Argentina…
-Exotic cars.
- The nicest perks are having people and avoiding lines . Maid, driver, chef, pj/blade/ concierge medicine etc Lets you focus your time on pleasure/loved ones or making more money.
I have to say I ain't ever seen anyone claim to make more than 400k p/a on WSO.
Looking back at the post I realized that even I had no idea what I meant by "sharks". Turned out it leaked from my Russian in here. Communist propaganda used to call exploitative businessmen "capitalism's sharks", but the term eventually stuck in a more positive, cooler sense
Anyway, honestly, thank you for this comment. It reignited something in me
remember the guys at 45-50 grew up in a different environment, it wasn't as competitive as it is now, and little online career resources when they were graduating. being Russian, I'm surprised you haven't tried Russian oligarch HFs (one offered me a position last year), obviously they're not doing great atm. or you could do creative writing as it seems like you have some training there.
thanks for your comment. I had an idea about applying to En+, but eventually chose to go back to my hometown for the summer. anyway, instead of a Russian oligarch, I'm now employed by a Kazakhstani one. how has your experience with your employer been so far?
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