Home Office Set-up?
As an incoming PE associate, wondering what home office set-up those in the industry use (e.g. monitors, keyboard, laptop, etc.). Any guidance and insight would be much appreciated. Thank you!
Trending Content
| +80 | GF doesn’t care about her looks | 49 | 8h | |
| +50 | Affair with my Associate… In Desperate Need for Advice | 23 | 23m | |
| +39 | Insurance as High Finance? | 10 | 1d | |
| +38 | 400k/year in HVAC sales? | 26 | 19h | |
| +38 | How to sound more eloquent? | 13 | 53m | |
| +33 | Would you rather live alone in an outer borough or with roommates in Manhattan? | 23 | 1d | |
| +27 | Why do people listen to Jim Cramer Investing Advice? | 10 | 2h | |
| +26 | Is my boss gaslighting me? | 3 | 2h | |
| +25 | Carnivore Diet | 9 | 1h | |
| +24 | BO -> ??? | 14 | 5d |
Career Resources
I have a dock + 2 monitors at a desk. I've found that one of the biggest limiting things is VPN or whatever your firm uses as a shared drive system. My old fund had BEYOND shitty VPN so working remotely was pretty much impossible.
I'll leave talk of monitors to everyone else, but I would highly recommend a standing or adjustable desk if you can get one. I'd also recommend a balance board or some sort of unstable surface to stand on sometimes.
Agreed on an adjustable desk. Sitting for more than a dozen hours a day for a decade will probably ruin your back.
A lot less sitting than that will ruin a lot more than just your back in a lot less time than a decade.
I agree with this. If you're on a budget, check out Varidesk. They have their cheapest model for $395 and you can just throw it on top of your current desk.
I wouldn't pay that much. I got this and it is awesome: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01COQZQOM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpa…
And my point of reference is a $1,500 desk my old company bought me.
Costco has a tabletop one that looks very good for like $200, I think.
Make sure that whatever you get has a crossbar so it doesn't wobble like the one I posted. And I'd avoid electronic ones and just go with hand crank so it doesn't break.
Ensure your internet speed is excellent and get the higher speed package from your provider if you can. The VPN can be difficult to work with (especially on days where everyone in the office is working from home i.e. snowstorms or Fridays in the summer) and a slow connection can exacerbate that.
Good choice working from home. Some suggestions:
Have a different room strictly for work. Helps you mentally "box up" your work. I don't do this but all my other friends that work from home do and it's widely considered a must.
Headset! I use a plantronics one with a ton of bluetooth range and it's super lightweight. If you're working from home you'll probably be on the phone a lot. The only issue with my Plantronics headset is that audio quality isn't super amazing given the price of the unit. Good bluetooth range is crucial if you want to do things like eat/cook while on conf calls or stretch/roll.
Maintain a backup computer. I have two high spec gaming laptops that are identical and use a docking station @ home.
Multiple screens for sure. Get at least one super wide screen because it makes fucking with Excel a million times easier. If you can only buy one thing, this is it.
Proper filing/storage. Seems stupid but I finally did this late last year and it's great if you're a disorganized hack like me normally.
Proper desk + chair. Don't overpay for some bullshit ergo chair. Just go to a store with a lot of chairs and try them out, get whatever you like most.
Keyboard....I use a gaming keyboard, I think it's a corsair mechanical keyboard.
Mouse. Again, gaming mouse with a ton of programmable buttons. You can do a lot of cool things with those buttons. No need to overpay for anything stupid, just grab something off Amazon. Get one of those mice you can use without having to angle your wrist as well for when your wrist/tendonitis acts up.
Bitchin speakers. You will need these to play Rick Astley's classic *Never Gonna Give You Up *every morning.
This can also come in handy if you want a tax-write off. You need to show your office is solely used for business, which generally is easier when it is a separate room. You can not only write off housing costs (e.g. rent or mortgage & property taxes) associated with the space buy also things like utilities, insurance, etc. (link)
Same as above, VPN situation can suck but that's not what you're curious about so:
In general, and as mentioned above, a lot of the gaming equipment tends to be of good quality and can take beatings. Look into brands like Corsair, Logitech Gaming Lines, Razer, MSI, Alienware, etc.
Edit: and do yourself a favor and get a good chair, seriously
Very helpful. Thank you very much
If you are creating an at home station that will permanently be used solely for at-home work (or if you already have a portable work laptop) please don't buy a gaming laptop for your station at home. You can easily out-spec ANY laptop on the market with a cheaper desktop (even cheaper so if you build it yourself).
Nerd comment - but no one who considers themselves a gamer uses Alienware. Its over priced and building your own computer is very easy.
Unless you snag an Alienware from a sweet deal. Company discount knocked 1k off the laptop price, made it totally worth it for the specs it gives + being portable.
two screens, mechanical keyboard, gaming mouse.
Shell out for a high-power computer, i made the mistake of getting a less powerful comp to save $150 and regret it.
Remember to get antivirus.
Personally I use an IPad and make all of my spreadsheets using the Google Sheets app. However, I also own 3 Microsoft surfaces to impress women. Occasionally if I'm feeling spunky I'll whip out my magic mouse, but that's pretty rare. I would also buy several chromebooks- they're great.
Several chromebooks for sure. Charging your machine is for poor people. I just keep a stack of chromebooks in the corner of my office and open up a new one when the one I'm using runs out of juice. Everything's on the cloud anyways.
forreal?
Unfortunately due to space constraints right now I don't have my dream setup, but find my specs below:
Definitely agree with everything people have said - invest in a good chair, good monitor, etc. Hopefully you'll get to use your setup for more personal use than work use...
How do you have your laptop connected to the two monitors? HDMI cord with a splitter? I am hoping to have a similar home setup but can't quite figure out how I should connect to be able to use all three screens. Thanks.
using the x1 carbon, one is connected via hdmi and the other via a displayport to USB C cable
Just get a decent USB-C dock like this. It's how I have four screens going at once including the laptop screen itself (nerd alert!)
Just curious, why does no one use Apple products?
One can make an argument for Apple laptops because of the UI / OS preferences and screen quality (perhaps even the keyboard). But those arguments are really only valid for the laptops. Apple desktops are frankly dogshit... can't customize them, either under-powered for the price or overpriced for the power. Excel is a bitch to use on Apple OS...
I don't give a fuck what 3rd party addons people say "makes it feel the same"... why would I dedicate resources on my already weak apple machine to make it work like a windows machine...
i think everyone covered the monitor/docking station set up already but...
i love my ipad pro. i can review and mark up comments, take notes, etc. i bought the pencil as well and actually just tried today to take notes with it at a MP - works well highly recommend.
Surround sound with a keyboard that has back-light features along with a gaming mouse (Razer Basilik).
I am building a new computer system, so right now I am docking my laptop on the desk temporarily until further notice.
Don't forget the subwoofer. Gotta be able to blast and have the ground tremble as you do your excel modeling!
Landline through VOIP. You will get sick of repeating yourself 3x every 5 minutes on your cell.
I typed a post and it didn't go through but I wanted to mention;
Logitech G600 Mouse
Anker Vertical Mouse (Game changer if you have a wrist or arm injury.)
SSD storage
Herman Miller Aeron chair
I work out of my home (pretty common on my side of the business) and these are a few things that really help me:
Other than that as stated above you can get tax benefits. I don't know what they are off the top of my head but I just take my accountants word for it.
My monitor: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BMES072/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpa…
My Docking Station: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X3KQZ94/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpa…
My Keyboard (get something that has the right-click key): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004N627KS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpa…
My Mouse: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NR57BY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpa…
How do you like the ultrawide? I am in the market for one to make my office setup look cleaner and I love the idea of multi-tasking on one big monitor. Do you use DisplayFusion or any other 3rd party software to better split up windows?
What computer do you use?
I'd like to mount a power strip to my standing desk. Would prefer as long and low-profile a cable as possible. Any suggestions?
I stand at my breakfast bar, plug into an external monitor on the breakfast bar, padfolio next to the laptop for notes, strong ass pot of coffee / pot + ashtray, surround sound system that blares music.
Intermittent rolling my body out on foam roller, busting out sets on my home bench, cooking / cleaning / pacing / standing on my balcony.
Running on my lunch break.
Working from home is the best when I really gotta get critical thinking done.
i keep all food/drgs away in the next room over.. no spills/stains/oops some plant got into the folder
I highly appreciate your advice, guys. Though it's been mentioned many times here that standing while working is an excellent thing, I want to pay attention to it again. Since I bought a changeable height glass desk, I've noticed that my back doesn't hurt that much, so I'm glad about my choice.
Vel voluptatem est eum aliquam quia laborum provident. Sit minima iusto rerum illo. Animi dolorum rerum placeat quos.
Natus deserunt enim tempore cumque temporibus voluptates illum. Possimus saepe non minima maiores. Sit vel in perferendis sit dolor deserunt tenetur.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Incidunt officiis facilis iusto nulla non voluptate est voluptatem. Et cumque ut maiores saepe. Aut dolor atque aliquid rem distinctio architecto.
Aut et perspiciatis consequatur qui. Nobis est accusantium omnis veritatis. Provident ipsum quia est minus quia ab quam. Quo quia quasi corporis harum. Et voluptas et possimus omnis ipsa accusantium voluptas. Quo nemo et eaque expedita veniam. Qui fugit repellat iure molestiae est nobis a minus.
Consequuntur aspernatur illo temporibus voluptatem modi. Repudiandae placeat cumque sunt consequuntur consequatur odit. Odio consequatur ut sint. Perferendis dolor quia dolor voluptas voluptatibus.
Veritatis perspiciatis rem occaecati sunt aliquid illo. Ut ullam et fugiat omnis. Rerum velit eius quia rerum dicta officia amet quia.
Omnis cumque sed suscipit iste corrupti. Modi quasi at quas nemo aliquid et natus quia. Modi et quis illum. Dolore eum est et vero illo.
Aut rerum et eligendi qui voluptatem et aperiam. Omnis ut ut ab eum at. Nam rerum ut aut temporibus ut qui quo laborum.