Smoking weed

To people currently working in IB who were stoners in college, do you ever smoke now? Did you give up smoking before your SA stint? I've smoked bud since high school whenever I want to relax or am stressed out and it feels weird that I might have to give it up soon. Additionally, I feel like working for 80+ hours a week is gonna be really stressful so I was wondering how yall cope with this. Would appreciate some insights.

11 Comments
 

Likewise here. A couple of my older buddies a year / two above me now FT who I know still blaze just not as frequently as they did in college. It definitely helps ease the stress and is just a good way to relax whenever you can shut off a bit early for the night before going to bed. I also think WFH makes it a lot easier to do so but curious to hear others who do

 

How do you manage being blazed while working the high demand and pressure of IB (genuine question) 

 

Lmao since you bought it up, the last bit was a Fri/Sat regular for me and the guys the first four years I was in the city. I don't really think it was a problem given it was never a tool for work or an upper to help me get through the hours but rather a fun release at the end of the week. But definitely knew/know people who are hooked and definitely have a problem. I'd argue that blow, more than weed, is a worse "gateway" drug than anything else.

 

So many people I know smoke as analysts for a few reasons:

1) Ease of access and options in NYC

2) Stress / Sleep: To be clear, weed is a poor long-term solution for poor sleep related to IB. However, when you are having a really rough month, it's a pretty good coping mechanism to fall asleep pretty quickly.

Most people I know don't smoke during the day, they generally just do it like on their way home or now when they are winding down for the night. Let's be honest, most of the work you do on the job is pretty stupid. Unless you are in a fire drill where you need to get something out in the next two hours, it's not going to impair your ability. It does however make the stressful weeks far more bearable.

 

Some banks stopped drug testing all together. Either way they only test once around April so you should be fine to smoke over the summer.

Heard from 2nd years pre wfh it was easier during the week to know when you’re done for the night (when people leave the office) now most only do on Friday/sat night

 

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