I am currently working as a credit analyst and hating my life for how slow the workload is. I feel like I am losing brain cells and every day is the same and the environment makes it even worse. On the other side, other people in high finance say they work awful hours. What do you think its worse?
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Currently work in M&A. Would say hours are 70-100, never under 70 though. Very intense throughout the day.
Before this I worked in asset management at the type of firm people go to in order to maximise work-life-balance.
Comparing the two, and I know I’ll get MS for this, I’d take the environment at my current job 100%. Most days I don’t get enough sleep but I constantly feel sharp and intellectually stimulated. On the way to work I feel pretty amped up and buzzed in a way. My job in AM was so draining, I felt uninspired and bored almost everyday. The job itself was interesting enough but it gets to a point where everything moves so slowly you get so exhausted and mentally tired. These days I feel more fulfilled despite being overworked (which I don’t argue that I am) which IMO is key for feeling good about yourself. It’s not perfect at all but it’s definitely better in my view
Yeah exactly, totally agree, that feeling of boredom and being unfulfilled is killing me and I am hating the job.. I think I would much rather feel amped up as you are despite the drawback of long hours
Same, I worked in credit and fp&a before M&A. Being bored feels worse than work stress for me
Yea I'm the opposite of what purp is. I'd rather have a life outside of the office and endure a slower pace than work 60+ hours (let alone >70). I think it's normal to seek some engagement from work if things are slow by going to a place that has higher demands. But frankly you'll never form you own opinion until you try it. My previous job was ~45 hours a week and really slow, and similarly to purp, people would go to that shop for better WLB without cutting too much comp. But looking back on that experience I was stubborn and needed to experience what a "high caliber" job feels like. Now that I have it I've realized it's not something I want to do long-term. Best advice I can give is try something for yourself, only then will you form a decision that is based on your thoughts and experiences vs what others say.
Yeah thank you for the different perspective. I think about that a lot too, I'm trying to leave this environment but also wonder if I am chasing something that I'll equally hate. As you mentioned, just got to give it a go, but good to hear other experiences
of course man. I can guarantee you that you'll naturally find what you want from your career (and more importantly your life). I'm of the personal belief that you need to experience the two "extremes" (i.e. working at a slow place vs fast pace). This was what I went through (hence the stubbornness I mentioned) and I've slowly come to the realization that I'm just not cut from the same cloth as some of my peers. There's nothing wrong with this either, it's natural to want something that challenges you when you are young in your career. But that feeling of wanting to push yourself (in my experience) fades after ~6 months, and reality starts to set in. Doing IB/ER/S&T (any front office role) out of college is a good stepping stone, but like I mentioned before you start to realize if this is something you want to do long term. Depending on your age and experience I would suggest the following, 1) Look to improve your current work (automate things, start taking some leadership or initiatives in your assignments), 2) remind yourself that a majority WSO and others in finance hold their jobs closer than the average person, and 3) when your personal time starts getting eaten up by work you'll figure out real quick if that's something you are ok with. Different strokes for different folks.
I'm probably weird. But I like to feel important, that my work and impact is meaningful, that someone needs my services, and that I am contributing something. Whether or not this is all really that true or impactful is another thing (just driving shareholder value for people who don't know I exist), but so long as I feel that these conditions are being fulfilled, I am content. Thus, the 70-90 hour weeks are usually bearable, although at times less tolerable or enjoyable. It helps that for right now, I like what I do.
This is also really bad of me but I prefer and tend to perform better in firedrill situations. This has always seemed to be the case for me in life, that I remain coolheaded in stressful situations, collected in the clutch time of say a basketball game, not too stressed when taking a vital exam, etc. With that said, this means I am super bored if the hours are meh or the deadlines are far out. My work quality goes down and I tend to procrastinate. Like a lot.
In summary, mainly because of what I mentioned in the first paragraph, I prefer the grind right now. As always, bankers tend to exaggerate [hours], including me!
Good luck!
I prefer shorter hours at an intense pace. Long and intense work is not sustainable for me, and long and slow work is boring and makes me feel like I'm wasting time (will echo SneakerP - at my best during firedrills, tend to procrastinate too much when deadlines are nebulous)
I value challenging work on my own schedule. I can obviously meet deadlines on my time, but at my leisure.
"would you rather passionate slow-fucking or a fast-paced ass blasting?" - bruh
Would you rather be waterboarded slowly or just get it over with? Same vibe.
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