IB/PE and "high finance" are a scam (no, not the usual complaints)
No, this won't be the usual post complaining about IB/PE because of its lack of WLB, work culture, toxic characters, etc. While obviously there is validity to all that, I think the vast majority of high-paying and high-performance jobs are quite demanding at the end of the day, grass is not always greener and all that BUT there is a major problem.
The job security in this industry is HORRIBLE and the flexibility to find a new job even outside of IB/PE in a "downgraded" corporate role is very very very hard if you are not currently employed period.
No, just because you were in IB doesn't mean you have a bunch of open doors and can now pivot to whatever pleases you and people are knocking down your door to hand you a job. But that is quite literally what I see a lot of VP+ on here make IB out to be to new kids. "Just keep your head down and grind and sacrifice a few years of your 20s and you'll be so glad you have all these opportunities" Ok, where are the opportunities? I've been laid off for nearly a year now am I just doing applications wrong?
This is the most frustrating time and I don't know if it's just because it's such a bad market right now or what. I seriously wished I had studied something else in school and gone down a different path than wasting all this time and stress on the job that has given me nothing. Again, I understand having to put the hours and am no stranger to long hours in but where is the reward? Monetary? Well I'm burning through that money trying to find something. Why even bother anymore.
I guess the point of this is to warn all the younger guys on here that even if you do grind and land a BB, you are not "set" and need to be on your toes always for the next opportunity especially when you are currently employed otherwise you will end up a loser like me.
Have you looked into Strategic Finance roles at tech? Open AI recently welcomed 3 ex-IB/PE/VC into their teams, one Partner from IVP, one from TPG and one ex-IB.
For every one of these openings that occasionally come around there are a hundred different qualified applicants (especially if it's at some cool tech startup)
Still worth giving a shot. A lot of these job postings prefer bankers or ex-PE guys. Especially those that are hybrid roles (Corp Dev / Strat Fin). A lot of other applicants get rejected if they don't have 'high finance' jobs on their resume.
Where do you see these hires?
personal networks in all the companies mentioned, but you can also do a search on LinkedIn, the ex-IB/PE/VC circle in tech is very small
skill issue
Can you explain why you think he has a skill issue?
Skill of aligning logos?
Skill of interviewing well and not coming off as a weirdo
You are not a loser. Keep your head up man 🙏. The next chapter and opportunity will come
Following similar boat here
Following. Same here.. so demoralizing.
The key to job security is lowering your standards.
Also getting laid.
Moneyball technique - “we can create a 10 in the aggregate”
Ha I got a good laugh out of that. Looking back on my youth I’d have definitely gone for more of the 5s and 6s instead of holding out for the higher standards….upside is no STDs now so there’s that.
It’s true about security though, playing in a less competitive space is highly underrated even if a temporary move.
A few thoughts on your comments, from someone a bit further down the road (pinch of salt, personal view, not to opine on your personal experience):
Perhaps it is about the realisation that: 1) it is not as easy as we thought: e.g. it doesn't suffice to put the work, even have the connections, sometimes we need luck; 2) "the path" does not truly exists, you gotta redraw it every time, cross it every day, remain humble and flexible; 3) a degree of "independence" can help. Trying to be one's life designer... Which means, trying to bat as many and as hard as possible, because only a few will get there, enjoy when one hits the home run, don't get dogged down about the missed hits, keep batting; 3) humbleness, compromise where needed -except principles and values- remain curious, resilience, give yourself daily reasons to be pride of yourself and your achievements ; 4) recall that the key is not mastering what happens (seldom happens/can control things), but your reaction to them. 5) enjoy life, people, conversations... It is about the journey, because the exit we don't control (neither place nor timing, nor ...); 6) someone said the three more addictive things in life are heroine, carbohydrates and a monthly salary. Food for thought. ... I hope it helps to add perspective beyond your comments and from others here. Good luck and keep us posted!
echoing the skill issue comment. focus on yourself king.
Yeah, the job security is a good point. Have had this conversation many times with my friend who is considering an MBA/Law school. If everything goes well, I'd consider a path from BB/EB ASO --> MD a better one than Biglaw ASO --> Partner. But the chances of getting laid off in biglaw if you are a harder worker who bills enough hours is very very minimal, and you can usually find a comparative role. As with MD, equity partner is far from guaranteed, but most biglaw firms these days will let you become counsel instead for a secure 600k+. The vast majority of people leave biglaw of their own accord or are pushed out (again, typically due to refusal to "work hard enough" with months of severance and website time. There are virtually no lay-offs in biglaw. Something to consider.
I don't fucking understand at what point this forum became a forum to rant about finance. Guys, where the fuck was your research and what were you expecting to do professionally.
You got laid off? 1.5 year ago? I assume you were recruited during the moterhfucking post-Covid 19 IB recruitment boom. Congratulations. You and many are out. You think recruiters are retarded and don't see the full picture of it?
But that's not my main point. My main point is again: Why the fuck do kids join this industry if they end up on WSO ranting about. Who pushed you? Who's to blame. The fact that some bankers or some senior sugar coat it? Can you stand on your fucking feet once and understand that no one will bad mouth its career and will sell it to you?
Those rants are fucking sickening and useless. The fact that such posts get so many upvotes just proves how infected of kids without a backhone this forum has become.
every comment where I mentioned my MF PE VP friends are happy with their jobs gets downvoted like crazy
lmao, what I'm saying
don't like it/unsatisfied? turn off your brain's auto-pilot and plan something/do smth else.
can't do it? then ur too stupid and ur exactly where you belong, the rest are just excuses.
You're a prime reason of why the industry is a mess. You're just lucky enough that it hasn't happened to you yet. I guarantee you're one of those early to mid-30s guys who has rode the boom for the past decade. Do you truly believe you're just so much smarter and harder working than everyone else in the industry? That all the kids these days are whiners (like literally every generation in history has claimed about those following them) but you are so magically a rockstar?
boom is so right, 2010-2019 was minimally zero interest rates. easier than ever overall. just look at the fed funds rate curve lol
The post is actually beneficial for characters like giveadvicepls & all those prestige whores who have never seen serious stress in their lives (& no—don't give me the retarded line that studying hard enough to get into Ivy League / Oxbridge is anywhere as stressful as banking)—rant posts like this serve to attempt to shove maturity & reduced foolishness into the minds of freshmen & pre-university students about chasing banking
one caveat, I come from a blue collar family where my father struggled almost all his life financially.
As you can imagine, I have almost no respect for the "grind" of Ivy kids that grew up with any sort of advantage, and I have even less empathy for people that cry because they have sOoOO MuCH stress in their professional path
this post isn't even about stress, it's about a guy crying because he can't get employed IN A FUCKING IB FO role and then, even if he did, he is unsatisfied with where his professional path will go long-term
boo fucking hoo
get a job, pay your bills, and move on. Or do you want me to hold your hand whike you do those, OP?
Accountability and self awareness are not in vogue anymore. Always someone else's fault.
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