At EB Right now. It's already 9pm talked to analyst who told me I'll be working until 2am on average (including today). I've been "reading" the compliance book since 2pm since there's not a lot to do on my first day.
I think I fucked up and chose the wrong profession.
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We all have to live with the chooses we make.
.
You really made a poor choiced
Exactly my point who has attention to detail after working for already 12 hours
That's pretty crazy. Not all IB jobs are like that
As your internship goes on you'll realise that out of 15 hours in the office, perhaps 8-10 are of concentrated work. The rest is eating, scratching your ass and waiting for comments.
!He chose... poorly[https://media.giphy.com/media/aEb4C7a63EB56/giphy.gif]
At least you will have an easy time transfer to compliance later on if you want better hours.
Heard some years ago an intern did quit during the training week after figuring that IB is basically advanced accounting models.
Sounds shitty but use the time wisely. Dig into some models, read up on old pitch decks/deals. Master your excel knowledge and shortcuts. Learn VBA or something. Bond with the other analysts.
This is your time to shine don't waste it.
you're already on wso at work, starting good habits while young is key
^ First thing into the office. Check Email / WSO. Last thing before leaving the office. Check Email / WSO.
This is probably why you got kicked out of the flagship fund
And by email you mean Tinder, and by WSO you mean Youporn.
Dude I think this is the only worthwhile comment you've made in your entire career
and who are you?
Sounds like a ridiculous facetime culture if they expect you to still be 'reading' the compliance book at 2am.
The fuck did you expect at an EB man
IDK where you work but this is not the case at all EB's - far from it in fact.
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The hardest choices require the strongest wills, and reality is often disappointing, little one
Congratulations, welcome to banking
yeah, gotcha sucker
If it makes you feel any better, accepting a summer internship =/= choosing a profession. Taking a FT analyst job isn't even that big a commitment. I'm not sure what the current percentage is of analysts who exit IB after a two years to a different role, but it's pretty high, and most of those roles (PE, HF, startups, corp dev, etc.) are quite desirable.
My advice, FWIW: Work as hard as you can, learn as much as you can, and aim for a return/ FT offer, even if you wouldn't accept it in a million years. It will give you considerable leverage in OCR.
It's amazing how people trivialize sacrificing two years of your early twenties on this website. These should be the best years of your life and spending them slaving away at a job that doesn't make you happy / consumes your entire life won't be something most sane people will be happy they did down the road.
^^^ This. Generally those that trivialize it are college students that have no perception of what it's really like... Can't blame 'em though. I was the same way.
I'd say that unless you genuinely enjoy/are excited by finance and are okay with having your life tethered by the whims of your seniors, there are far greener pastures than IB, speaking from experience.
No one is trivializing it, and yes, if your career aspirations have literally nothing to do with finance or business in general than you shouldn't spend 40 hours a week, let alone 80, in IB. But the ever replenishing cohort of people happy to take FT analyst jobs are making a rational present value calculation.
Most of us will work for 40 years before retiring, and the IB analyst job will open doors for the next 38 years that would otherwise be closed or really hard to crack open.
i will joyously trade places with you. you're at an EB bro. pm me if you wish.
About to pack up., It's 2am here. So far it's been ok. Team is alright, I like the other interns. MD seems like a genuine scary person. We can hear him scream all the time. I hope to never interact with him. Analyst recommended me to never talk to him and also adress him with Sir/Mr. If I happen to bumb into him.
Executive Director is funny. Yes, he's a little sadistic but still, he's funny. Even his racist and sexist comments are usually hilarious. Also one fucking hot Analyst. She seems like a extremely career minded person and kinda scary. But I would still smash.
Everybody has their toothbrush here. I bring mine starting from tomorrow as well. Also, culture is kinda heavy on the binge drinking after work.
Nevertheless, I don't think I'll start here FT. I'm already in contact with a few headhunters, including PER who wants to talk with me about a potential Investment Analyst role after undergrad.
This group sounds miserable.
Agreed. Seems like a hell hole.
Lazard Paris?
following
Wow, this sounds awesome straight up
Where tf are you in Europe that it would be 2AM at 3PM EST? I'm smelling bull shit.
RTH FFM
Damn bro that sounds like the worst experience ever. Good for you knowing to get out ASAP
Rothschild Milan vibes
I think this might be BS or at least overly dramatic. EBs are toxic but I doubt they are this toxic, especially on an interns first day. In my office we try extra hard at least to brush that stuff under the rug for the first few weeks of summer they are on the desks.
FWIW though, could be true.
i believe him tbh, some places are horrible
I’ve heard some horror stories and lived through one myself. A lot of boutique tier firms insist on the optics of long hours just to feel more legit. One of my friends told me his VP said straight up, ‘we don’t really get that much dealflow compared to the big players so we make up for it by working longer and harder’.
Not at a boutique but had a principal tell me during my internship verbatim “this book is good but we didn’t have to work hard enough for it, that’s what we’re paid to do we work really hard” and then tore apart the book with changes.... just about said no to banking right then and there
My first day of an IBD internship in an EMEA satellite office (guess which country) I strolled in at 8:30 AM excited to learn about high finance, only to leave the following day at 5:45 AM. On that remarkable orientación day I learned that as an intern I will spend most my time in the downward dog adho mukha svanasana position.
That proved to be true, as for the next nine weeks I worked every single weekend and on some protected lol Friday nights, massaging numbers in a model or making boxes rounder in PPT.
If you are on a similar boat, I suggest you jump ship once done. But in the meantime, learn as much as you can.
Just as a friendly reminder - buyside is actually on par in terms of hours if not worse. Grass won't be greener there. I genuinely miss the team aspect of banking a ton (though yours seems to suck ass so good call getting out)
If OP accounts are true (I am not doubting the veracity of your statements) then this must be one of the most poorly run teams at your shop, and I'm in HK which is known for shitty work culture.
It makes zero sense to force an intern on day 1 to work till 2am. OP added marginal value (maybe moral support cracking a solid joke here and there?), more likely zero value add and you just soured his/her experience for the rest of the internship.
I respect my interns, and in turn they respect me and work their ass off if/when the time comes, people want to please and work hard when they are respected you respect their time. This sweatshop mentality needs to be wiped from our industry. No doubt we work long hours and they are required but there is a time and a place. Day 1 for an intern is neither the time nor the place, sorry mate for such a shitty introduction to the industry.
Agree. So I work in a niche field of project finance and somehow the team structure is like a consulting company, with people called managers and all that. My MD is very chill and once he told me: if you do not have anything due today and your comments are not coming in tonight, go home. Yes he's that sweet. My manager, well, he likes to tell me "I might need your help" or "i might have something for you" then after an hour or two he disappears and comes back after 30 minutes and tell you he actually does not have anything for me. LoL.
Sounds like Laz Paris
Yep
Sounds like a problem with the culture in your office... I don't see why they can't just let you leave early.
RTH/LAZ Frankfurt? Heard lots of stories like this from these guys
Exactly what I was thinking. They have been among the worst sweatshops in Frankfurt for a long time now...
Hahahaha yeah RTH FFM
This had Rothschild written all over it....
Knew it! hahaha
Godspeed at infamous Borsenstrasse 2
Haha kind of knew it. I know a few guys that did RTH and also went through PER to get a MM PE analyst gig in munich. If you are willing to do LMM PE/VC,, you should do just fine!
May I ask you one honest question: Do you think you will work saturdays and sundays? Heard mixed stuff on this from RTH
Guys from London/US, I've got some mates in EBs on the continent and have heard many similar stories. Sadly wouldn't surprised if this isn't exaggeration, I think it's fairly different over there.
You're being soft AF
#alwayssoft
The culture in FFM is honestly disgusting. I worked at an MM there so hours weren't bad, but I don't understand why Germans have such a boner for facetime, useless shitty turns, appearing stiff and preppy as fuck 24/7, and thinking they're a BSD cuz they work in M&A. At BB IB in NYC now and the people are 10x more chill, and I say that as a non-American. WHU/FS students and graduates are probably the most insufferable people I've ever met in my entire life; the Stern/Wharton hardos are not even on the same planet in terms of how much I want to kill myself when I'm sitting next to them for 16 hours a day.
I've met people from WHU... and all I can say is this is 100% accurate.
WHU, FS are insufferable Goethe hardos are mediocre Mannheim/HSG normal hardos
May I ask where you worked (pm maybe?). I honestly cannot think of a single MM where you do not expierence the same hours
It's wrong choice. It's really fucked up
Yesterday was fucked Up. VP told me I do great work and a few hours later he ripped me a new asshole because I did horribly wrong. He was about 5 minutes in his monologue when I told him that he opened the wrong document... After saying sorry multiple times he told me that at least I didn't get hit by a stapler or mobile phone ... Awkward smile
Honestly, peers from my uni who are at smallcap/lmm PE funds and smaller vc's seem significantly better than me. Personally, choosing an EB and trying to get into an UMM PE Fond is not my way. I realized that chasing prestige/money is fucked up
.
You know there is some point where you stop putting up with shit... if an MD threw a phone at my head he'd be a hospitalized MD soon thereafter...
Company culture in Europe can be ridiculous sometimes. I've heard stories of Managers throwing lipsticks and make up boxes at interns at places like L'Oreal
If an MD at a bank assaulted me, I would sue for a very large sum of money
Welcome to FFM!
EBS4Life
Mannheim, HSG, WHU, Goethe, even FS >>> EBS
Haha I went to HSG and (at least from my experience) we are not even closed to being as retarded as FS/WHU students. Especially WHU...
You are right, HSG hardos are usually fine. FS/WHu aka wannabe academics however are insufferable
I'd say give it time, it may or may not come to be what you need. When I started working at Timbu, I used to write creative pieces until I had to broaden out to more tech related works. Best of luck!
Don't sweat it. It's an internship, man. If you don't like it then look for other types of jobs when it's over. Plenty of fish in the sea.
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