What’s the point of money without friends??

Disclaimer: headline is probably a bit harsher than it needs to be, oops idgaf it gets the point across.

I’ve seen a fair amount of posts lately about being burnt out, as an analyst and as a student going thru recruiting. Having seen a whole bunch of “I’m not enjoying undergrad,” “college is the best four years of your life???,” etc, I think it’s an alarming thing to see in the industry. I get it, recruiting is tough, classes suck, etc. I’m an undergrad at a semi target (on a good day) with a FT offer secured, so maybe I’m only seeing the good side of things.

My recruiting process: double major at a B1G school, accounting and finance. Summer before junior year: AM internship. Probably sent 750-800 emails to bankers to help land an interview for summer internship after junior year. Summer before senior year: MMIB internship to FT offer. GPA: 3.0-3.5. But fully able to articulate why IB, and more importantly, a decent person to hang out with (optimistic, don’t think I’m better than anyone else attitude).

But college not being a great time? Gimme a break. I’m going to miss waking up at 9am hungover as piss in a 100 year old frat house to go and drink shitty beer with my best friends who don’t give a fuck about MM/UMM/MF PE exit opps. I wouldn’t trade GS TMT for those friendships, and I feel bad for you if you think any job is worth those friendships.

What’s the point of having money if you don’t have friends/family? Just to have a big house with a bunch of empty rooms?

Not trying to start an argument, but sick of people blindly supporting the better paying or more prestigious job for the sake of work life balance. Sorry if this comes off as self righteous or any bs like that. Curious to see people’s responses.

Name a happy person that died alone.

 

The truth is some people will take money over friends. I know successful people who honestly would rather be wealthy than have a close social circle. Is it possible to balance success and be social? Absolutely yes, but the question is are people willing to do it.

"It's okay, I'll see you on the other side"
 

They aren't mutually exclusive unless you want them to be however you also sound like a sheltered ignorant dick when you say " Having seen a whole bunch of I'm not enjoying undergrad, college is the best four years of your life???" I'm assuming that you either got a a lot of scholarship money or your parents are paying for majority of tuition because it sucks for low and middle class students in university.

A couple of people I have met who live in suburbs of nice states ( Florida, Illinois, Georgia etc) still have to work a basic job or jobs part time just to avoid racking up CC debt, combine that with the desire to get into high finance that involves high gpa + networking + extensive preparation and the pressure by their parents or themselves to pay off student loans asap, people aren't typically going to view it as the best 4 years of your life especially when the stakes are high and the competition is continuously getting stronger each year. Check your privilege and enjoy your last college years but consider the reality that it is a cold shitty world for other students who aren't viewing college as a place to rage, bang sorority chicks and maintain only a 3.5 gpa

 

Some people are able to do both. Some people think having money brings more friends. (they're wrong if you want lifelong friends) Some people choose money over friends because that's what makes them happy.

But yes, while your rant is a little extreme, I do think people and relationships are much more important than money. You do need money, but not a shit ton to live a happy life. Of course, this is a sliding scale and for everyone it is different.

Check out "The Paradox of Our Age" by Dalai Lama.

 

Ahhh OP you wouldn't understand it unless you had actually been in GS TMT...

 

I don’t believe most people choose money over friends and happiness. I think it’s just very easy for high achieving individuals to gain tunnel focus and quickly lose track of other priorities such as friendships. Reflecting on my past there was never a time where I said “I’m choosing this over my friends”. It was more so “I really want to accomplish these things” and naturally I drifted away from some social interactions. It’s easy to lose sight before the harm becomes apparent.

 

Ahhh, see you mentioned being in a fraternity. See for those of us not in one in it does indeed suck when it comes to a social life. I can almost guarantee that most on here that talk about how great their college experience was either attended a school where greek life isn't that prevalent, were in a fraternity or sport. As an UG, I dearly hope and believe it can only go up from here.

 
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Your friends would probably take $$$ over your friendship. Would they admit it? No. There's more to life than money, sure. But we live in a capitalist society.

Ever wanna get married, have kids, retire? Need money for all those (especially raising kids for 18 years). Your friendships, sentimental memories, and emotions can't buy diapers.

Enjoy your college years, but get over them. It's 4 years of an average life span of 78 years. IMO, life has gotten even better after college. Surprise, surprise, its because I have money to blow.

Alexander the Great.

 

Not sure why you assume having that ambition is mutually exclusive?

You need to surround yourself (or make sure your friends currently) are supportive of whatever you do and you need to get rid of the guys that don't get it. If you're actually serious about an IB job a lot of people will get turned off by your hours etc and the cancelling of plans etc so its good to recognize early one those who get it and those who don't (this is in the context of lifelong friends - coming from a fraternity guy as well i get there are those dudes you just drink with and thats kind of it)

 

I don't get the point of these posts - why do so few people realize that different things make different people happy? And why do so many get personally offended by others choosing a different lifestyle to them? Personal preference (incl. affinity for social interactions) are normally distributed, and there are plenty of people who would prefer not getting drunk with a bunch of idiots talking about the same unsubstantiated shit day in and day out. I personally felt I had enough of that with 19 after 3-4 years of binge drinking every weekend.

Besides, while recruiting / studying pressure is obviously a joke compared to performing well in a high pressure job, students without a certain social background supporting them throughout their studies put a huge value on the peace of mind of finally reducing uncertainty and having "arrived" in a stable work environment, not having to worry about bills anymore (very much unlike college years):

Let them live their life, why do you need to give a shit? Just because you wouldn't be happy in such a scenario doesn't mean nobody is , I genuinely do not understand why this occupies your mind and you are spending a single brain cell trying to wrap your head around something you know you will never understand.

 

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