Hi Everyone,
Just yesterday I got an offer from IB for an associate position from a middle market firm. But I also have an offer from an O&G firm in its commercial division (I posted this a few days back in the 'Other careers' forum). I am torn between the two:
Pros and Cons of each
IB:
Pros:
Money
Exit opportunities, maybe. The firm is middle market.
Lack of work life balance. Apparently people shout at you. I am 27. Do I really need people shouting at me at this age?
Faster career advancement.
IB has been my desire since I was in my 4th year of college. I have been OBSESSED with IB for the last 4/5 years. This desire has made me take a lot of decisions and made me move half a world for my MBA. Missed out narrowly on a BB for my summer intern. Was depressed as this had been a major life goal for sometime. That box is checked.
Cons: I am not sure but I have started to have a life recently. But now things have changed. I have been learning to play the guitar, go chill out with my friends, driving, getting married, travel the world etc. Earlier I had no life and I wanted to be in IB. But now I am not so sure.
Commercial & Biz Dev Division, Oil&Gas E&P
Pros:
Less hours, less money, but not THAT less (as offer firm is MM). Life is chilled out. Have time for personal things. The company provides pick and up drop daily. Firm is awash with money.
Cons: No idea about career advancement. This field is completely new to me.
Geographical limitations.
Please help!
Start with IB, if you hate it you will have more opportunity to move on.
Why is this even a question? You have been chasing IB for so long and now you are there but the damn O&G job looks equally (or more) enticing to you. I mean I know they have pick up and drop and who doesn't want that!! Are you saying that you are too old to be shouted at now that you are 27? you, sir, are wrong. You are never too old to be shouted at, ever.
EVER
& EVER
One of the few things I miss from IB was being able to ream someone out.
If I tried that now my employees would cry.
Haha, and file a lawsuit
I would take the O&G job based on your comments. It sounds like you're a kinda laid back guitar playing dude who likes to chill and be in chill environments. Banking can be a living nightmare at times and it does not sound like you're cut out for that kind of lifestyle.
I'd take the OG gig. Banking is only worth it if you can havea year or two under your belt. This isn't a 2 month gig.
Sounds like you'd be better off with the OG job. You've recently discovered the happiness from enjoying life, it will only grow in the future. Time to give up prestige/impressing your friends and do whats best for you as a person.
'wouldn't necessarily disagree with @Emous & @TNA but if you do take the O&G gig you better be damn sure you will not spend the rest of your life wondering what would have happened if only you took the red pill.
Do a thorough introspection to make sure that you are not just scared of IB now because you have been chasing it all this while and have put it on a pedestal - kinda like the hot chick at the bar. You will come up with some excuse not to talk to her and spend the next month wondering why you listened to yourself - only in this case you may end up wondering for life.
Is this a wife based decision? Not that it shouldn't be, but sounds like from what you have stated that is the only thing that explains your sudden deviation from your dream.
This. Coming out of college everybody wants to make bank in IB and doesnt care where they work or how long. As you mature and get into your later twenties, life(GF/wife, hobbies, friends/family) starts to get in the way and you make your career decisions based on those variables. Just look at how many kids want to get into IB out of undergrad, and how many want to get into IB out of B-school.
The O&G offer seems solid, and exit ops from a post-MBA MM IB associate role arent going to be fantastic anyway. It seems with your attitude you are better off with the O&G offer, even if your "dream" used to be IB. If you ask yourself why you wanted IB in the past, in all honesty it was probably to get into PE/HF/VC, which are likely out of reach anyway with your other offer.
Well this is not exactly a wife based decision. I am not married yet. I don't even have a gf. But in my country I can get an arranged marriage. I probably won't get married for another year or so.
The interesting thing is that in this country MM IB isn't that bad. I saw an associate from the firm going to one of BX/TPG/Carlyle while a few others went to MM PE firm and a couple of others lateraled to a Citi/Barclays type firm. Many have exited to CorpDev jobs as well.
Before my MBA I was an engineering nerd, I used to come home at 6PM and play CS/Total War or Netflix before going to bed.
I once spent like $900 to purchase a snowboaridng kit, and used it exactly once. When I moved back to my country, had to give it away. If I come home at 6PM now, and the same fate meets my guitar, I would probably curse myself. Hence I can't guarantee to myself that I won't fall into the same CS/TotalWar/Netflix pattern now.
You're right. This has happened to me with girls before. I don't want it to happen with this. I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering what if. I used to like this girl she used to flicker her eyebrows and give a big smile everytime she saw me. I was too much of a chicken to ask her out. She later went on to become a beauty pageant contestant. I have always regretted not asking her out. I should not let that happen again with this job.
You're right. Worst comes worst I will leave it in a year and move on to a saner life.
Maybe going to IB is a mistake, but if I don't do it now, I will spend the rest of my life wondering. And I hate to wonder.
I have been really really depressed after missing the BB IB chance during summers. I internalized failure. I set low expectations from myself....and met them. I withdrew into my shell. I have run away from difficulties all my life. I have taken the easy way out and wussed out.
To quote Lily from HIMYM
"OK, yes it's a mistake. I know it's a mistake, but there are certain things in life where you know it's a mistake but you don't really know it's a mistake because the only way to really know it's a mistake is to make the mistake and look back and say 'yep, that was a mistake.' So really, the bigger mistake would be to not make the mistake, because then you'd go your whole life not knowing if something is a mistake or not."
Like you know how Ted got really pissed after getting fired from GNB and becoming a prof refused to listen to Barney. And Ted was happy being a prof and enjoying his work life balance but then Barney gave him that little airplane
"Unfinished. Gaudí, to his credit, never gave up on his dream. But that's not usually how it goes. Usually it isn't a speeding bus that keeps the brown, pointy, weird church from getting built. Most of the time it's just too difficult, too expensive, too scary. It's only once you've stopped that you realise how hard it is to start again, so you force yourself not to want it. But it's always there. And until you finish it, it will always be..."
Investment banking it is!
Thank you everyone!!
I think the OP needs to understand his dilemma through the mind of Ronnie Coleman as I believe this applies to investment banking also in this situation:
"Everybody wanna to be a bodybuilda, but ain't nobody want to lift this heavy ass weight!"
Well when it's phrased like this, the decision sounds like nothin' but a peanut.
Personally, since you just got married, I would take it. Now that your life is over and will slowly decend into agony and misery you might as well give yourself a prepackaged excuse to never be home. And just wait until you have kids. You'll be paying your boss to come up with fake projects so you'll never be home.
I'll pour one out to a fallen brother tonight after work.
Ain't nothing wrong with Counter-Strike homie
One of the VP's got us all hooked on DotA
.
Going to a predominantly pro-investment banking forum and asking if you should take an investment banking offer. Classic.
Forum chanting: * Do it! * * Do it! * * Do it! * * Do it! *
Prob like 5% of people who post on this site have ever worked in IB too. haha
WSO actually has a lot of anti-IB posters. But this is not difficult to understand. Those who enjoy IB simply go their merry way and would not come here to complain. Those who hate it are far more likely to come here to vent their frustrations. The result is a very skewed picture filled with disportionally negative views on IB. This is a classic case of silent majority vs. vocal minority.
great response.
Sometimes life changes course without you consciously making the effort. I'd say just by getting the offer, you have accomplished your goal in IBanking. If you now feel that having a life outside of being a office drone is substantially important to you, take the leap and go with O&G.
Well you have to think long term: The O&G role will pigeon hole you into the O&G industry and if you end up not liking it, it will be hard - not impossible - to move to a new industry. Not sure if IB associate is in energy industry, but even if it is, you will be working on different verticals and will have lot more options 2-3 years down the road. Yes, your life will suck, but you can always go to industry and turn that sucky life into a pleasant one - with extra dollars/savings in your account and no regret of not pursuing your goal.
I recommend taking IB, especially since you seems confused.
I had considered taking up an O&G role with the intention of using this experience and skillset as a selling point to later move into IB. Then it was pointed out that this may be quite foolish.
If your passion and desire has been IB, follow that. The skills are more marketable (arguably), with a greater degree of levity in exit opportunities.
If you hate it, you'll likely have more options to move onto later. At this stage in your career, it's about generating options for your future.
I'd add one comment about the O&G position with the caveat that I'm not in the industry but I've done some oilfield services acquisitions in the past so I know a decent amount of people in the business. I don't specifically know what a biz dev role in the field would be but most people I've known who work in the industry for their entire careers (which you would if you spend more than a few years in the entry level position) end up living in some pretty fucked up places: Nigeria, North Africa, the 'Stans, all over the Middle East, Bakersfield CA, etc. I've been told that if you want to advance in the business you volunteer for those places also. Just keep that in mind if you want to go that route.
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