IB An1 - Nobody teaches me anything
Having a bit of a freak out here about how little I feel I've learned in my first 6 months as an Analyst at an EB (entirely WFH).
I have worked consistent 80-90 hour weeks, but nobody teaches me anything AT ALL. Well, for the first month or so my associates used to take the time to spend 20 minutes walking me through a concept, but that hasn't happened for months now. I hardly do any modelling. I am just an Outlook and PPT b*tch.
Is my experience abnormal? Is it just because of WFH? I have tried to push for learning sessions, but everyone is just too busy
Think everyone is having a pretty similar experience. Biggest concerns are when summer hits and majority of 2nd year analysts leave. It likely will evolve into the blind leading the blind.
Was in the same boat as you at one of the most notorious banks on WSO and told a senior mentor about how I didn't feel like I was learning anything and that people aren't willing to teach me. He scoffed and said something like: "This is a job. We're not here to teach you anything. If you want to go learn something, go back to school." Couple years after he said that, I ironically am thinking of going back to school.
Regardless, I would try to always ask and see if your Associate or VP can set aside time to teach you things. If not for the pure education of it, at least you can phrase it as a way of getting more efficient and better so you're faster next time. That should most likely get them more motivated to teach you so you make it easier on them in the future. Of course, if you're getting the response from seniors like I got above, then that bank is not worth working at.
First-year at a MM firm. 95% of my job is PPT, admin work (calendar invites, tracking buyer outreach, managing VDR and request lists), and research. Zero modeling. You're not alone.
Does that make doing the job easier / less stressful?
Easier, yes. Formatting PPT slides and sending calendar invites isn't rocket science. Not necessarily less stressful, though. There are still deadlines and you can have multiple things blow up at once.
For me, the biggest thing is accepting reality vs. expectations. I entered this job wanting (and expecting) to improve my accounting and finance knowledge, learn to model, and develop technical skills, but I haven't done any of those things outside of new analyst training.
If your sitting the whole day in PPT, and not learning anything, wouldn't Equity Research be a better choice? Atleast you are modelling and learning about companies and fundamentals. I and still in undergrad and I am seriously considering ER rather than IB. I dont know if its a wise choice though, career wise.
IB teaches transaction process not really modeling especially in coverage
As the poster below said, you learn a lot about the transaction process, what makes good buyers/targets/comps and how to find them, and how to position a business in a sale. IB gives great optionality and pays very well, but if all you want to do is modeling and valuation, you prob won't be happy in IB. Never looked into ER and can't speak to it.
Modeling in the context of IB is a huge misnomer anyway, sell-side models (which I've seen plenty of) are kind of a joke and there's hardly a darn thing that's technical or remotely complex about them... simple 5-year P&L projection driven by candlestick growth rates / costs as % of revenues, and then insert assumption on CAPEX/NWC and some half BS WACC buildup to get to DCF (or extremely simple LBO for ballparking)... 50 lines max before it gets to the point of false precision, and typically not a used by decision makers who build their own models
If you want technical every other area of finance is more technical, whether it's transaction services, valuation services, project finance, or being on the buyside (PE/CD)... What IB does teach you that other more technical roles don't is soft skills and how to take shit from others, and it gives you recognition from elitists (which I think is somewhat undeserved... ex-IB analysts in my team on average are far less technically proficient than those from FDD background)
Full disclaimer: have never worked in IB but did everything else and work with them regularly, opted to skip it as I didn't see the value
wow this is kind of scary - kind of what I imagine the real world to actually be like.
still in uni
same boat. i gave up. not worth the effort
What are your plans for after leaving?
TBH - I'm a tad tired of hearing this sentiment from 1st years. This is most likely your first job and yes, WFH isn't easy, but I felt the same way my first year out of school. You're ~6 months into your entire career. Give it time and you'll learn. Keep raising your hand, the fact that you want to learn more is half the battle. There are plenty of analysts who are content to be a PPT b*tch. The learning curve is steep but even when we were in the office, it was common knowledge the 1st year analysts weren't useful until 6-8 months in.
I just became 2nd yr. did you get more modeling or real work as 2nd yr analyst?
I rode shotgun on first two models for deals as first year and as a second year I have run point on 3
Can I just say that this is exactly what I needed to hear
Glad it was helpful. You'll be ok!
Majority of the job as an analyst is mindless grunt work. Lots of the more interesting analyst work is taken up by the senior analysts. You’ll get to do it but wait your turn. You’re 6 months out of school I would set your expectations accordingly
This is what most of the analyst work is to be honest, but I’m going to say something you may not like...
People are looking for you to step up and take a stab at something without very specific instructions or being told to do so. You may feel lost or like you don’t even know where to start, but you need to try. WFH has been a disaster for new analysts because most of them honestly just have no idea where to start on anything and don’t have the confidence to just step up and do something without being asked. You have to watch what other people are doing and either practice on your own time or nag your associate to help you, but also balance that with the fact that they are super busy and potentially carrying a heavier load on your behalf.
I’m a 3rd year associate at an EB and I’m trying to help the new analysts as much as I can, but I also find myself too busy at times to give really specific instruction. Happy to help anyone looking at how to approach this specifically because I understand how hard it is for you guys. WFH was kind of nice at first, but first years are not developing on a normal timeline because of it.
Good advice thanks and nice to see that associates are recognizing that we aren't learning as fast as we maybe should
Same issue here... but finding some of my associates are pretty hostile when I ask questions and answer along the lines of why don’t you already know this. It’s ridiculous because I don’t know shit because they have never had the time or put in effort to help train us...
Have you raised this to your staffer or is there any one else within your firms structure that you feel comfortable speaking with? It doesn’t have to be an associate bashing session, but could be more diplomatic along the lines of “I feel like I’m not learning everything I need to at this stage because everyone is so busy, is there anything you recommend I do to get up to speed quickly to help the team.” May not do much (IB support is historical horrendous), but it at least shows you’re actively trying.
Another thing I strongly encourage is talking more amongst your analyst class and with more senior analysts. This is honestly where analysts learn the most anyway. WFH has killed the collaboration you guys had within the office, sharing materials, etc.
So I'm a 1st year MBA associate (I get it - you all hate me). Absolutely been feeling the same way - all I can say is that what I've been doing to try and keep pace with development is run through Rosenbaum and Pearl textbook/workbook when I have down time as well as asking as many questions as possible. Trying to copy down models and walk through them, and ask questions when it won't trip up a team moving quickly.
My firm has been really good about WFH, but it's honestly not close to what one needs to develop the skills, so I'll be following this thread for tips. Any suggestions beyond what's already here definitely appreciated.
a few comments/thoughts from a 2nd year
Why do you need to be taught anything if you're just an Outlook and PPT bitch?
Some good advice I got when I started: If you want to get in the model, you're going to need to push for that on your own. In the short-term, it won't benefit your team since you are new/slower. Therefore no one is going to advocate on your behalf besides you. You need to take initiative and get yourself in for some reps to prove you can handle it.
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