How "good" is the money?
Don't get me wrong, money is incredibly wonderful, but I don't care that much about comp as long as the lifestyle is comfortable. I'm just wondering if the money actually makes up for all the pain you endure.
So you get your paycheck, you feel great about being paid the first few times and buy a bunch of stuff, but doesn't that satisfying feeling diminish? Sure you can buy nice things but you still can't afford huge things like a house or buy a super luxurious vehicle right off the bat... or does buying nice things always feel good...
I'm not looking for calculations about what you can and can't buy, just personal anecdotes about how the money has influenced your life as an analyst or associate.
Not to be a total economist here, but it really depends on your personal preferences. I know people who want to be professors, and they think 60K is a pretty good salary. They think making 100K is like winning the lotto. I know someone in the private sector who makes 100K in a bad year (about 150K - 200K in a good year) and doesn't understand how people can live off 50K a year.
Not to mention, some people really value leisure time and don't want a job requiring more than 40 hours per week, other have hobbies outside of work such as community service, sports, or whatever, and also greatly value their leisure time. Other people really love to make and spend money, while others just love their jobs and enjoy putting in 80 hour weeks. I know I'm stating the obvious here, but I'm just trying to point out that a "good lifestyle" is incredibly subjective, and as far as I can tell, varies widely from one individual to the next.
What kind of lifestyle would I personally want? I want a job that is challenging and rewarding. Ideally I'd work about 60 hours in a typical week, greatly enjoy my job, and make $250K per year. When I say ideally, I mean something that is somewhat realistic (otherwise I would have probably said not work but be a billionaire).
Does money buy happiness? I doubt it, but it's still nice to have the flexibility, freedom, and security that come with wealth. Not to mention the material comfort and social status that comes with it.
Don't you have friends you can discuss this with rather than using a message board for all your insecurities?
What kind of question is that? "How good is the money?" Um... SORTA GOOD. There you go.
... and why don't you send out some more newsletters FTPjunioranalyst4life?
This is a legitimate question and I'm interested in hearing current analyst's thoughts and stories regarding this issue as well.
Not at FTP but thanks.
It's up to you I guess. If you want the "all black everything" lifestyle: Rolex, private island vacations, penthouse with a plasma coming out of the bathroom walls then you might have to stick around a little longer. Once you get used to the James Bond lifestlye it's kind of hard to go back to living in an average 1 BD in Battery Park. Or you can be very frugal and retire from I-Banking by age 40 with a paid for house/car and open a dog bakery for your wife (true story)
If you want to know whether money will buy you happiness, then look no further than Tiger Woods. The dude is world famous, an historically awesome golfer, has maybe the coolest job in America (pro golfer), and is married to a girl who'd be on the Mt. Rushmore of all-time beautiful women. Then he goes and screws a cocktail waitress in Vegas. How does that make any sense?!?! More is always more. Once you have more, it ceases to be more because you have it, so you will never have more, although you always want it. Until you don't. Which is when you will be happy.
Money is nice, but honestly, who fucking cares how much money you have when you can't spend it.
This job will make you realize how much you appreciate free time/etc, and you will have to decide for yourself if the sacrifices you make are worth it to "make it big" early on. Just make sure you figure it out early if it's worth it for you.
For some people, the money is worth the sacrifices necessary. For others, it is not.
One issue that has been brought up is the point of making an amount of money that goes beyond what can be reasonably spent, especially given the time restraints imposed by a career on Wall Street. The thing is, money itself also has different meanings. I'm sure that there are some people who want to make a lot of money so that they can live a comfortable and luxurious life. Other may want to become philanthropists or use the cash to bankroll a political career. However, for some, particularly the hyper-ambitious, money ceases to be a medium of currency. It becomes a way of keeping score. It just all depends on the person.
Interesting point. Everyone has their own motivations for money.
For example, you often see former MDs / Partners of bulge bracket firms who have no doubt made dozens of millions, and go off to start their own firm. Then there are those who get into politics - perhaps they want to join the powerful elite of the world (the billionaires, trillionaires who make global decisions). Such an example is Michael Bloomberg.
It's these sort of things that you really can't plan out in advance. Once you have that sort of money you start to look at the world differently. Whether the "money is worth it" is really all relative. For some, making $100-200K a year is a lot of money. For others, that is just the start.
some people say money makes the world go round... what i do know is the rich gets richer....
but like what others would say, sometimes when you work for more than 60hours a week, you begin to see things in a different way.. should you forgo the $$$ and do a 9-5 job or endure and enjoy the $$$ later in life..
but hey I will want to be Tiger Woods or Jay Z.....
If you don't have much money right now, what you can make in banking seems like the best thing ever. $100K a year? $150K a year? That's amazing, and you'd do anything to get that... including working 100 hours a week.
But once you start to get some money, there's diminishing returns to having more. I guess there are some people who will stop at nothing to get more, even if they're already worth billions - but look at people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett... they're giving away a lot of their wealth now, because they'd rather use it for improving the world rather than making even more.
I think there's a point when you have "enough" and start to care more about things other than money. This is different for everyone - some people are happy with $100K, some need millions, and some need billions to be satisfied.
For me personally, getting out of school I was hyper-focused on making tons of money in finance. But then I realized that while money is good and gives you some freedom, it's not the end-all-be-all.
I'm not saying I want to be a pure philanthropist or anything (after all, I started my own businesses after finishing up in banking), but these days I generally won't do something unless I think it can actually have a big impact and be rewarding both financially and personally.
I think there's also an element of "the grass is always greener" here - when you have money but no time, you want more time... and when you have time but no money, you want more money.
So it really depends on the person, and there's no way to know until you actually start working and get to experience it.
I agree with you. The way I see it, many people like wealth because they like the social status that comes with it. At a very basic level, people want to be adored, respected, looked up to, feel important, etc. Wealth (especially self-made) is a great way to gain these things. I'm definitely not claiming it's the reason people get high paying jobs (as I said before, I think people also like the material wealth, challenge, reward, and meaning they find in these jobs), I'm just saying I think these social components definitely play a role (at least on a subconscious level).
So true.
Interesting Post. I know a decent amount of very well off friends and some not so. I think the upbringing of the person affects a lot of times their view on "money" and how much is "good money".
For those that grew up pretty well off. They spend money pretty extensively on bottles, vacations to Europe, etc. They are making decent 70K+ doing 40-50 hour jobs with no loans. It's enough to sustain their lifestyle.
I have another friend who's family used to be well off and his father lost a job and had to downgrade, though still upper middle-class. He now works like crazy and was in IB before transitioning into a MM/Small PE shop. He is very hard working but also takes a lot of "abuse". It almost seems he has something to prove.
I feel "hungry" ones are usually the less well off like Bud Fox. But it doesn't mean there aren't a lot of MD's sons and daughters who wants to prove something to pops, themselves, and the world who aren't doing it.
I personally enjoy the freedom and perks (buying impromptu, not worrying about next meal, and going out) that comes with money. But I don't enjoy making money enough to make to go into IB and thus chose consulting. It is more flexible and for the most part pretty interesting (depends on the days and project).
Social status is one factor, but it's also about knowing that you CAN earn it. I admit I'm quite money driven, but there's not much right now that I wish I could have with that extra money (material-wise I mean). It's about competing to be in the one of the most sought after industries, competing to be one of the best in that industry, competing for and winning major deals, executing those deals, rising up the corporate ladder, interacting with powerful professionals - it gives you an adrenaline rush that money can't buy. I'm not saying those things aren't just as shallow as money, but material goods are by far not the only things people work towards.
When people on this board say consulting, are they usually talking about financial consulting or management consulting?
Well put. I was actually trying to add that to one of my posts by just saying "challenging," but you said it much better than I could of. I think the desire to compete and succeed (just for the sake of competing and succeeding) is a huge motivation.
Henry Kravis - Yes, we've been fortunate, we've made a lot of money. Some people say maybe we've made too much money, but its a way to keep score, that is all.
Management Consulting.
Though I do know a friend from Wharton who chose to go into financial consulting. Knowing her stats, I would presume she had other options. To each their own.
I don't personally like Vincent Chase the character. But who wouldn't want his life? Pretty much a bum, smokes up, and hangs with friends all days, and get mad girls. Also make a few movies once in awhile and make bank. Though like someone mentioned above, when you have all that you'll probably covet other things and have other dreams.
Yeah, that could be a pretty fun way to live out your life, however, I have a feeling most members of this forum identify more with Ari Gold than anyone else from the show. Obviously just my opinion, but with the highly driven, type A personalities that seem to frequent this board, I would bet good money most would become extremely bored with the Vincent Chase lifestyle despite how awesome it seems. Again, to each their own.
Regards
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