Back story: I'm 26, used to compete at a semi-professional level in an emerging individual sport. It was off the beaten cuff, but allowed me to spend years traveling across the U.S. with my best friends, who were also my competitors
For the last ~18 months, I've worked at a LMM PE firm in South Florida. And while I genuinely enjoy the work, I’ve come to the realization that this is a sad reality. This is not living, and there is nothing unique about you, or what you do. You’re one of thousands—hundreds of thousands—not doing anything exciting with your life.
Anyone else feel this way? Kinda sad existence tbh. I used to enjoy being the guy that followed his passions and did what he wanted
Yeah man I am in PE but am challenger rank in league of legends (top .00001% rank) and have been invited to the official rookie scouting ground to go professional and am heavily heavily considering it this job is miserable I am so sad everyday
nerd
my fault
Who’s your main?
Hecarim jungle. Wbu?
How did you manage to maintain Chall through (presumably) IB and PE? Congrats, pretty sick accomplishment lol
Thanks my guy! I mentioned in another comment I am not at a sweaty MF or anything, so outside of deal weeks I wrap up around 8-9PM every night and usually play til around 1 A.M. During IB my account fell to masters and was hard to maintain challenger but PE has been better. We should get a finance group going and flex 5 hahaha
You have to see that the esports scene is completely dead brother. The new region merger is fucked, viewership, salary, and sponsorships are nonexistent. I would stay in PE - unless you think you can be a standout and make it to LCS.
Calling BS, there is no way you’re working proper PE hours and able to maintain that standard.
For those unfamiliar, it’s equivalent to saying you’re in PE but able to put in the hours of training and lifestyle required to be an Olympic level athlete.
theres literally PE associates that have competed in the olympics. why are you butthurt?
Not bs.... I work at a LMM/MM my hours outside of deal sprints are not terrible, I am out at 9PM most nights and play til 1-2 A.M. I've been playing since I was 12 (I am 25 now) and have been challenger for 5+ years.
I also just checked, my account is ranked #298 right now in NA. Not like I am a top 25 challenger player.
Agree, also peaked challenger as a total nerd in college but was dropping at least 30hrs a week back then
I can barely win against gold players nowadays
Hitting challenger is actually super impressive now considering they added two tiers below it. Back in the old days Diamond 1/2 was around the same as challenger, but now it’s so difficult you actually have to be a god
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Welcome to the real world, buddy. Stop complaining and start focusing on your role/career. Just find hobbies and interesting things to do in your spare time. The vast majority of us aren't special, stop thinking you're some special outlier to this.
my point exactly
The sooner you realize this is just a job the better
Yep, I get the appeal - but still baffles me so many youngsters want to get into finance.
I also look at my back office friends who have done their whole careers working 9-5 in cool MCOLs, coach their kids’ sports leagues or still have a group going out most weekends, have hobbies and have traveled a lot.
I’m a year into what I thought was my dream job and I can’t stop thinking about quitting the field.
Whats the dream job and what makes you want to quit, what are the factors
My detached from reality, la la land / retirement dream job is to run a beach bar and grill.
Realistically, wanted to work in a player personnel department for a football team growing up when I realized I had no future in the sport after college (so freshman year lol). Tried to do it, pay was dramatically less than finance.
At this point? Probably be a punter and, admittedly extremely naively, assume in this fantasy that I’d be good. I do have weirdly shaped feet with bony tops, I can’t control the direction - but i can still boom it 55 yards. And then fall to the ground grabbing my quad wondering why I left the office.
Except you make 3x back office plus carry. You can live in nyc / London vs “MCOL” you can travel 2x+ per month to top tier spots anyways. It’s a sweet life
Yeah definitely funds a great lifestyle, that’s for sure.
Just kind of bored of the work, but if that’s my biggest problem in life meh
Lol this is written by some senior bootlicker PE professional who is getting closer to his carry payout and wants to keep the grunts below him right in line so his life is easier. You’re a loser dude.
Side note, coaching kids sports leagues or making every soccer game is very often cited as the classic example of work life balance. Even if I had work life balance and a family, watching small kids play sports sounds awful. Just surprised that's so frequently the example used.
I just want to go fight other dads and tell their kids they suck
It’s rewarding. I’ve adjusted my travel schedule around kids sports.
Spoken like someone who doesn’t have kids lol. It’s only fun if it’s your kid.
Nice showerthought. This same feeling applies on an even greater scale to literally everyone else not in our line of work. Existence for the majority of people is varying degrees of suffering & boredom punctuated by brief periods of joy & excitement. Welcome to adulthood.
that was really just the main point i wanted to make - appreciate the comment
This really resonates with me as of late. I I have grinded for the past 10 years to get my MF PE seat and after doing it for about a year now I realize that this job is fundamentally not very different from any other job I’ve had and I feel no passion or excitement for anything anymore. I have no time to do anything and I am almost always sleep deprived and unhappy. Yeah it may get better one day, but that is years away and that also l implies that I am making a very long commitment to this industry. Corporate America is truly soul sucking.
I do not mind working hard, but right now I feel like I am killing myself mostly over useless, inefficient processes that have been in place for years and are unlikely to change. People talk a lot about learning, but I feel like I could have learned everything I know now in like half the time without the depression if it weren’t for all the dumb corporate busy work and process layering.
I have been toying with the idea recently of quitting this whole life and moving to a sunbelt state where I could start a trash business. Id so much rather try to start something and build it and have the prospect of failing vs continuing on my current path. All I want is to feel excited about life again and I really don’t think I am ever going to get that working in an office for a big company
feel for you man. i often wonder the same thing - is a 20+ year commitment worth it for a semi-comfortable retirement? I feel like there are a lot more equally prosperous career paths now then there was 20,30,40 years ago. Sounds like you need some sun and a break.. Florida is great for that! I cant dm you - mind sending me a message?
actually, i cant/dont know how to dm you - can you dm me?
If you work a job you hate for a nicer retirement you will be unhappy forever. Much better to work a job you enjoy and have a normal retirement and you will be much happier.
If you want excitement, you need to be an entrepreneur.
If you want a nice paycheck, a path to wealth (but most likely not f-you money) and all that it provides for you and yours, and you can find a way to live a fulfilling life around the demands of an intense corporate job, you should do PE.
PE is imo the best training ground for any career with direct view to equity value creation. (Entrepreneur, banker, PE itself, CXO, etc.)
Perhaps you are right - but I do not see it. I think PE professionals get bogged down in trained thought instead of following passion/instinct - like most successful founders. I am inherently lazy so i don't think entrepreneurship would suit me
Agreed. Anyone who has a creative “figure it out” mindset will crush a PE professional who knows the playbook. It’s thinking without thinking.
I don't know why people say this. There is not much exciting about entrepreneurship. It's filled with a lot of ambiguity, stress, and constant experimentation. I've built enough MVPs to know that just when you think you've executed an idea so well and identified a tangible business problem and need that users just don't bother to use the product or that they're not aware of the product. Making you wonder if it's a marketing issue or an issue with your solution. Currently in product market fit stage with my own bootstrapped start up. It's a side project for the time being but I've already been working on it for a year doing a major pivot 5 months into it and most likely going to have to do a very minor pivot in the coming months.
Only thing that's exciting I'd say is seeing growth because of how much you poured into it.
Emerging individual sport...so like acrobatics?
haha it was a legit sport but i'd rather keep my anonymity from people at work
Then do something that you like. You have 1 life, why play it safe and live with the regret? If "that's not life", why continue something that is not life? Why not make it back "life" by discontinuing what's "not life"?
Personally, I can bear it because I am very risk-averse and always think that I should be grateful for not being in a position to hit with the same hammer the same iron daily for 30 days - which will bore me even more. Change the world or your circumstances to fit your standard of happiness or change your view about the world to find contempt in it.
Last note, but exhaustion, tiredness, and lack of sleep often pushes people into nihilism/mild depression - so think about maybe taking a break and rest.
Hope you find your path. Cheers
Thanks for the comment. As I said, I enjoy my job, this post was more just an observation that this is not an ideal way for anyone to spend their lives. I wish I could do something that would allow me to travel and do what I want (which may vary from day to day), but I dont think that exists haha
it is not but wrong place to seek advice..everyone here is stuck in the matrix
What are u clowns talking about ? Once you’re experienced VP+ You’re the top of the top in pe. You make 1m+ cash have millions in carry life is way more in your control bc you have associate minions and advisors. You are making literally pro athlete money…
You are about to be in for a rude awakening prospect
You can have all the money in the world yet yearn for the things broke 25 year olds have in abundance. In other words, the hedonic treadmill will always reign supreme.
Like what? Hair ? Take finasteride. Being in shape ? Eat less and hit the gym. Time ? Quit you’re rich
Hilarious this comes out at the same time as the “a lot of you could be more grateful” post lol
make money and then do exciting things with your life. what else can you do?
not much..
I understand the sentiment, but what other alternatives are there? I feel like most careers where you're able to earn a lot nowadays are pretty meaningless in terms of societal value and personal satisfaction.
exactly - i dont think there really are any other options, unless you wanted to like worked at a white water rafting company in colorado, or a dude ranch in wyoming, or a surf coach in socal. even those would come with their challenges. i think the only way is to find a way to free the "matrix" early, so you can enjoy your 40s, 50s, 60s, ...
I’ve been unemployed for about 7 months now and it has been one of the best times of my life. Previously worked in buy side at a pretty chill fund but got great experience.
I gotta say, I’m not drowning in money right now, but I don’t care. I have time to pursue my passions such as music and production, have read dozens of the best books, travelled to many places on a budget, and gotten to spend time with my people. It’s really changed my outlook on life and relationship with the material side and allowed me to do some soul searching on what I really value. I realize this is the exact opposite of your situation and both lack balance, so i’m excited to get into my next chapter of life and ambition. But all i’ll say is appreciate your youthfulness while you have it and the beauty of the world.
Thats awesome man good for you. What're your plans going forward?
Thanks. I'm currently talking to a few funds with at least one of them I see converting to a role. If that converts, I'll work there/parallel seats for a while or until I can quit and grow a business myself.
Congrats man, curious on what you mean by not drowning in money given your buyside career , do you just mean you do not have VP money but still a decent slush fund ?
No, it's just that the lack of consistent cash flow while unemployed means that I have to live below my means and not buy fancy shit. Thankfully, I'm pretty entrepreneurial and have figured out ways to make money on the side doing all types of stuff.
Congrats. Curious what's been most surprising about it, both in terms of living off your savings as well as any other surprises?
I'm currently employed and "make" a good amount but I always put "make" in quotes because my income never feels stable enough to speak about it in the present tense. To me the only money I can really count on is what I've made. Because for many reasons, going forward is uncertain.
So I often think about how much I need to be on my own, so I can have unlimited runway to figure out my next move. For me, there's a brain unlock where once I feel my runway is unlimited, I get very creative and productive.
Not asking for a calculation, all that stuff is case by case. Just wondering more about what's been surprising for you and whether you felt the same way about it.
The most surprising thing for me has been the fact that there hasn't been much of a difference in my happiness with such opposing monthly income amounts. When you're not bringing anything in at all, you're forced to:
Ultimately, I think the finance path is a complete trap because you're not truly building equity value that will set you free. Even carry is a complete mystery to me sometimes because of how much it differs between funds and the timeline of realization. Equity in the startup sense is a bit better because you literally own a percentage of the underlying business which grants you unlimited upside. But nothing will beat control. I see myself doing more active investing and operating in the future instead of throwing every dollar into SPY. This includes building a real estate portfolio and starting/running/buying businesses and selling them myself.
All in all man, ownership is the thing that really matters and like you said, you "make" a good amount but are probably still renting out your time aka mortgaging your life so that you can hopefully one day retire by 50. Be an owner. And sometimes it takes burning some cash in order for you to get the peace of mind for a bit and figure out your plan on how to get out of the race.
Any way you can do a more chill job in your sport’s industry and still casually compete? You could do well in Florida without making PE money.
perhaps - but there would still be an element of work. and i think people are missing the point that i actually enjoy my job. it just doenst compare to making money without actually having to work lol
I also am a semi professional race care driver, an amateur tattoo artists, and a volunteer fireman
That's awesome to hear. I'm currently in IB, but love doing track days during the weekend. My motivation in finance is that it allows me to pursue my passion for motorsports / cars : )
i am guess its golf? and you couldn't make enough monday qualifiers to justify the expense of staying "pro"? many such cases. welcome to the real world brother.
ha - thanks bro
thats your own fault pal. I run a side biz and large social media presence alongside PE because I simply chose to make my life interesting. And for most of my life I was an unathletic normal person with nothing unique going for me. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and take your life into your own hands
im also 23. You have no excuse. Love you bro.
ok luke belmar
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