How to survive first year in PE?

I’ve seen a lot of posts on WSO about how to survive your first year in IB, but none on surviving PE

I’m sure some of the points are the same but I’ve personally found the PE role a lot harder than IB. Combination of already being burned out from IB, life priorities shifting as I get older, no more support of a large analyst class, and a massive step up in responsibility and stress.

At this point I’m not looking to be a great associate, I just want to make it to the end of my 2 year program. 

Any practical tips or advice from the more experienced WSOers?

9 Comments
 

1. Commitment - put in the hours now as knowledge, reps, experience compound. 

2. Accuracy - spend the extra time checking your work. No VP likes to check, so build a reputation early that you deliver things accurately. If you make a mistake, try not to do it again.

3. Speed - in tension with 2, but push yourself to optimize and be efficient. 

4. Thoughtfulness - take a step back and ask yourself so what. Build the muscle of having an opinion. 

5. Ownership - own everything you do. Eventually if you're excellent, you'll be able to drive things.

In short, put your head down first year and try to get better every day. 

 
Most Helpful
  1. See the bigger picture: what you are doing now will pay off in the long run, even in the day to day can suck
  2. It can help to frame your work as an opportunity for you to learn and not to strictly see it as a BS assignment you just have to do
  3. Even though you may receive negative feedback time to time, always keep your head up and don’t take it too personally
  4. Find one activity to enjoy outside of work - physical fitness, some hobby, whatever it is
  5. Maintain your close relationships with friends and family
  6. When you have the time, find ways to escape. Weekends trips can reset my mind
  7. If all else fails, get shitfaced and hook up with a 40 year old
 

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