I’ve spent more time with my coworkers in the past year than I have with my family in 5 years

Wtf? Ignore my title I’m a PE analyst 1. In this past year, I’ve spent significantly more time with my coworkers than I have with my family since I went off to college… my associates and VPs work even harder than me and their carry is worthless since our IC cares more about AUM than returns and they all hate their lives. 


Why the fuck does anyone do this job? My seniors are all way smarter than the management of the businesses we acquire btw.


I’m surveyed my friends who work in finance (elite firms across the top PE and IB programs), and literally none of them are happy. 

Idk, maybe I’m just a lazy fuck but is finance literally just a psyop? 

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The girls at the Spaniard sure don’t give a fuck that I’m a “private equity investor” when I have time to go like once a month 

 
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"My seniors are all way smarter than the management of the businesses we acquire btw." is maybe the stupidest take I have heard on this forum that was said in a serious tone.

Even your partners don’t believe that, if they did, they’d be out running the companies themselves instead of backing and giving equity to operators. Spoiler: being a good investor or being able to raise capital from LPs doesn’t make you better equipped to run a $50M revenue business than the person who’s been doing it for 20 years. There's a reason the most successful PE firms (see Thoma Bravo's strategy) usually retain and work with management teams.

Being good at investing doesn’t mean you’re better at operating. It means you’re smart enough to know you're not, and to back people who are. If you’re in PE and still don’t get that, you’re not just wrong, you'll never make it in PE.

 

very good point, a lot of juniors in this industry misconstrue academic prestige for intelligence in all circumstances. Sure, your avg MD / Partner got better grades than the owner / founder of a random HVAC in the middle of nowhere but most finance professionals are used to thriving in systems where the structure is rigid and probably wouldn't last a year in the shoes of the companies they invest in. Good reason why most PE shops have operating partners / advisors with extensive industry experience. 

 

Isn't this what the job is marketed to you as? I thought everyone was aware that IB/PE is very long hours, and you'll spend more hours with your co-workers than friends/family. The whole idea is that you do this for 2-4 years to learn and then figure out whether you like it or not. If you don't like the role after that, you can go to other finance-related roles with a competitive resume and great savings for someone your age. 

 

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