Hey y’all. So I can’t be the only one with this opinion out there right? I’m in commercial real estate and was at my first job out of college for a year when I got hit with a COVID lay off. The whole time I was wfh. I then took another job that was permanent wfh, thinking the reason the last job didn’t work out was bc of the company’s culture, not bc wfh is tough on entry level analysts to initially get trained + stay in the loop when deal flow picks up.
At my new permanent wfh job now for 6 months, team of 4 people all over the country and with deal flow having picked up I keep getting left out while they grind away. I’ve brought it up to my boss that I’d like to take on more tasks and he agrees but still none of the team really includes me. Working like 25 hour weeks over here…
At this point, I’m exhausted and am considering jumping ship. I still want to stay in debt/structured finance in my next gig, the way I am now and also was in my first job too. If I do this, will interviewers shut me down bc I’ve jumped too much?
Yeah, I 100% agree with your comment/title.... you learn so much by just being in the room, does not work via video call (I'm in my 30s and cannot imagine having to learn like I had to in my 20s via wfh). This why office space will still be valuable long-term....
As to your situation... are the other 4 people in an office somewhere? Can you join them? Or is it really like like one in NYC, one in Dallas, one in Miami, and one in SF? If everyone is dispersed, seems like all would have the issue (are you the most junior/young?). Generally, no I wouldn't advise jumping, but in your situation, explaining to future employer that wfh sucks and you hate it, will prob earn you respect (and maybe a job). So, if it really is dysfunctional yeah I'd go (just make sure it really is unsolvable first).
Once these pussies get over their phobias of a virus that has a death rate that across the infection spectrum that is on par with stated flu deaths, I do think the stated flu death rate is overstated, we can all go back to productive work. I am still a firm believer that offices will come back to their full utilization when people realize that wfh causes far more damage to their companies bottom line and value than can be discerened in a short couple of years. Much like schools we are creating a traunch of young employees and kids who are going to be forever stunted in their developments because people were too afraid of something that really wasn't a big deal on a numbers basis.
10x to 20x Covid deaths than the average flu season. Even if you are one of the morons arguing people are being misclassified as covid deaths, just look at total deaths in the us.
2017-2019 all at about 2.8 million deaths. 2020 3.35 million deaths. If Covid is just the flu, why did half a million more people die last year in the us?
How you made it to director level is astounding. Rate of deaths is a direct correlation to rate of infection. If more people get infected then you can have the same rate of death but get more deaths. No one says this isn't an issue. The problem is that the issue has been blown wildly out of proportion to reality by a media that is dying and grasping at every last straw to retain relevance. I am paticularly baffled by the insane connections people draw regarding statements made about relevant percentages. It is as if pointing out any facts about Covid will suddenly create more people who are skeptical. So instead of being transparent and explaining why decisions are being made, those in power demand obedience and shame anyone who questions anything that might make them look bad.
you are so close to understanding why people are treating Covid so seriously even if the mortality rate isn’t that much worse than the flu but are just a little to stupid to put the pieces together.
This is coming from a VP....I'm sorry but nobody is going to hop on a train 5x a week, commute 2 hours round trip, just so they can potentially work in the office with a bunch of entry level analyst fresh out of college. I get your development is stunted, but quite frankly, most mid level managers are just looking out for their best interest.
We're at a stage now that I don't think we'll ever go back full time, 5x a week. Our office has been "open" for over a year and people go in 1-2 days a most to meet with brokers/partners or to print stuff out. Our occupancy on any given day is 10-20%. The lifestyle for a mid level manager and higher is just so much better not having to commute from the suburbs everyday.
I honestly think we're headed for a model where the office is used as a meeting place to conduct business meetings while the majority of the "grunt work" (modeling, due diligence, reporting, etc) is done at home. I hate to say this, but the work an analyst does at the end of the day is a commodity and doesn't make an impact on the final investment decision. We're not going to do a deal or not do a deal based off some random DCF created by an analyst who's been in the industry for less than 3 years. It's really more to cover our asses and to have something to say to investors.
Instead of focusing on the negative and praying for being back in the office 5x a week with a team, look at the bright side. Our analysts are working from all over the country, traveling to places for weeks at a time, enjoying life. That's what you guys need to be doing instead of moaning about not being "mentored" from a bunch of 30-40 year olds who have more crap in their life to deal with.
Yeah, I am sure that's exactly what the majority of IB, PE and RE analysts are doing. Should explain all the 'I hate my life' and 'Unreasonable workloads' posts recently.
Give me a break on the commuting excuse, not everyone decided to live 2 hours away from their workplace.
If its any consolation to others, the above is a minority view and thankfully, one thats becoming less common by the day. Most IB and PE firms, at least across the US, understand the issue and seem to be going in-person at least 3-4 days a week, even with the uptick in cases due to Delta. Its generally only the guys in the middle (VP level) who for some reason have the 'WFH forever, the office is done' outlook. Junior analysts and the most senior people like Partners, MDs want to go back to office and let's be real, its only the voice of the latter that really matters.
Listen here junior, I know you're full of crap when you say "most senior people like Partners, MD want to go back to the office" because let's be real, even BEFORE the pandemic, the partners and MDs are NOT in the office. They are on the road getting deals done and new business through the door.
If your partner or MD is in the office the majority of the week, then something must be wrong or you work a back office job or something.
Don't know what type of weird back office hardo MDs you work for brother.