Giving Up Your 20's for Wads of Cash?

Off Topic
21

[quote]fighting_fires wrote:
so noone else is just gonna take the other job for 50hrs a week and 100-120K because that sounds pretty sweet for just graduation college.

Now as for the investment banker stuff. Im really not sure what I would do. Seeing as ive never been in the position for that to be a possibility. I think it would be a tough decision but I would probably take it. then hate myself for the rest of my life. [/quote]
Yeah I saw that too, he made it sound like 120k/year for a 50 hour work week was mad rough for a starter job.

22

A lot of people in this thread have no real idea of what the life of an investment banker really entails. Before my brother-in-law committed to marry my sister, he was an investment banker. Here are some things he’s told me about his life as one:

-You don’t really grocery shop because you don’t have time. You basically live off takeout food which your company buys for you while at work. This guy has a super fast metabolism, but even he started developing a belly.

-He worked 100 hours a week regularly for over a year. Imagine being at the office past midnight on a Saturday.

-You rarely get a chance to go out but when you do you go ALL OUT. Bottle service at the most expensive clubs, whatever you want. Also flying home for a weekend no matter how far becomes no big deal cost wise

I agree you can take other professions to this extreme, but this is the NORM in this profession.

Don’t mistake this post as to saying you shouldn’t work hard in your 20’s to build you career, but you will have to make HUGE sacrifices in other aspects of your life if you want to be an investment banker.

23

[quote]JLu wrote:

[quote]admbaum wrote:
Your 20’s and early 30’s are the best time in your life. You have to ask yourself “is burning the best years of my life for money worth it?” [/quote]
Perhaps I’m a little green around the ears, but what exactly is it about a specific age range that is considered so great? Why can’t your 40s be the best years of your life when you’ve been working out for 20 years and can now crank out more weight in the gym than ever before? Or when you’re earning more and have greater job satisfaction than ever before? Or companionate love with another human being?

I always hear people talking about these “best years of your life” as though there’s some narrow window of opportunity through which to enjoy life, and after that you will basically just be miserable while longingly remembering said window of fun and enjoyment. Examples include sentiments like “I miss high school, best years of my life”, “college is the best years of your life, don’t waste it”, or as you said “your 20s and early 30s are the best years of your life”. [/quote]

Even if you have the same BMI your 40’s, you still wont look as good as you did in your 20’s.

EDIT: same body composition*

24

In my 40s now. There were years that I made like $6000 and years that I made like almost 10 times that amount. I haven’t noticed a big change in how much I enjoyed any given year. The trend is that each one is a little better than the last because I learned from mistakes and repeated the things I enjoyed.

If you think it all ends in your 20’s that’s a pretty grim view given you may have between 1 and 60 years left after that. Why bother to lift if not to lay in for the future?

25

[quote]admbaum wrote:

1 chance in 3 to get it. What if he doesnt get it?

I’d take a 40 hour week, make less money, spend more time doing my thing (family, hobbies, fun stuff) over working 90+ hours a week and have no time for anything else any day. Wealth isn’t just whats in your bank account. I’ve done the work-sleep-work-sleep thing enough to know I missed out on a few things and I didn’t like it. I guess things change when you have a family? My free time is worth way more than any job pays.[/quote]

If he doesn’t get it, he’ll either quit or get canned. No one stays in that profession for the salary alone. 70K isn’t shit in NYC. Secretaries start at 50K.

BTW, I’m not giving you shit for partying and enjoying yourself during your 20’s. Hope that’s not what you thought. I partied my ass off during my 20’s and still was successful in my field. If I could go back to 22 when I graduated college I would no change a thing. Sure, I could’ve made a little more money if I worked harder but I had a blast. You can’t do shit like that when you get older.

26

[quote]JLu wrote:

Perhaps I’m a little green around the ears, but what exactly is it about a specific age range that is considered so great? Why can’t your 40s be the best years of your life when you’ve been working out for 20 years and can now crank out more weight in the gym than ever before? Or when you’re earning more and have greater job satisfaction than ever before? Or companionate love with another human being?
[/quote]

Because you’re young and all of your friends around you are young. You don’t get youth back no matter how much you earn. When I was 21-28, me and my friends of the same age group would go out to clubs and bars and have a blast. We’d go wild, meet girls, party and fuck around with them and then do it all over again the next weekend. It was a blast. We’re all in our 30’s now. Some of us are married, others are in serious relationship. It’s just not the same even when we go out to bars. We really can’t go on vacation together either because of responsibilities at home (kids, mortgage, wives). If you aren’t into the above activities, then it probably doesn’t matter to you.

27

[quote]sam_sneed wrote:

[quote]admbaum wrote:

1 chance in 3 to get it. What if he doesnt get it?

I’d take a 40 hour week, make less money, spend more time doing my thing (family, hobbies, fun stuff) over working 90+ hours a week and have no time for anything else any day. Wealth isn’t just whats in your bank account. I’ve done the work-sleep-work-sleep thing enough to know I missed out on a few things and I didn’t like it. I guess things change when you have a family? My free time is worth way more than any job pays.[/quote]

If he doesn’t get it, he’ll either quit or get canned. No one stays in that profession for the salary alone. 70K isn’t shit in NYC. Secretaries start at 50K.

BTW, I’m not giving you shit for partying and enjoying yourself during your 20’s. Hope that’s not what you thought. I partied my ass off during my 20’s and still was successful in my field. If I could go back to 22 when I graduated college I would no change a thing. Sure, I could’ve made a little more money if I worked harder but I had a blast. You can’t do shit like that when you get older.[/quote]

Exactly what I’m trying to say. Some of the happiest people in the world work manual labor jobs and come home stinking to high heaven. But we’re getting a little off topic.

OP, if that’s your field and you enjoy the work, no one is gonna change your mind. Jump in and don’t look back. Just don’t turn to the dark side and end up like Bernie Madoff.

28

Everything in here is pretty much spot on. I’m going into my last year of college but a number of my older friends became i-bankers right out of school and it really is a grind. At least 100 hrs a week and no time for anything, but like people have said, when they do get free time they go all out, sparing no expense (so it was awesome to visit them on a Sat night in NYC).

A couple of them love it, a couple absolutely hate it, but one thing in common is that these people value the almighty $ more than anything, and I fully expect them to each have $10MM in the bank by the time they are 30.

Personally I would never do it, as I value my spare time too much and will make ~75k right out of school as an engineer working 40-50hrs a week. My ceiling is not nearly as high as an i-banker’s but that’s what business school is for down the road. GL with the decision and really think about what is important to you.

29

West,

You’re on the Peninsula?

I’ve driven down Sand Hill plenty of times.

OP,

It doesn’t matter what you do. As long as you LOVE what you do and want to be the BEST at it (not just in terms of personal satisfaction but REPUTATION), you will make money. Lots of it. That may require some clever strategizing on your part - “Gee, how do I market this traditionally unmarketable skill?” - but, if you are known very well for something that you do better than 98% of the population, you will be highly sought after.

This is a tough concept to grasp for young people, and it was for me as well for a long time.

My friend’s father who passed away recently was a wedding videographer. We all thought he was doing it as a hobby since he loved it so much. He wouldn’t make absurd amounts of cash, but he’d have some really good years. I remember he made $40k in a month and he was a one-man show.

My other friend is a corp attorney in Manhattan living in a 900 sq ft penthouse that he bought for $875k. He makes $300k/yr and hates his job. He’ll make partner in 1-2 years and probably pull in $800k-$1 million a year. I repeat: he HATES his job. He is never free.

My dad who sold cars for 25 years had a month where he made $50k net. He was also a one-man show. Being a sales job that required travel (auctions), it wore on him, and people that were just “looking” wore on him: he worked at least 65 hours a week and 6 days a week for at least 20 years. It’s really rough, but it was HIS business and he didn’t have to answer to anyone. He loved what he did.

My friend is an analyst at a hedge fund. He works at least 80-90 hours a week but he loves investing. He gets paid well, I am sure, but now that I’m getting older I don’t think I could forgo time with family, my girlfriend, in the gym, my personal time…all for ~ $120k/yr.

Hell, if you think $120k/yr is a lot of money in Silicon Valley, you’re very…wet behind the ears.

This is perhaps one of the most skewed housing markets in the country. You can’t live here and raise a family unless you’re a dual income household.

30

I wouldnt, mainly because I need to be social or else I go batshit.

31

[quote]sam_sneed wrote:
If he doesn’t get it, he’ll either quit or get canned. No one stays in that profession for the salary alone. 70K isn’t shit in NYC. Secretaries start at 50K.
[/quote]

I’m sure there are secretaries making that, and high-level exec assistants making far more than that, but I know for a fact that my firms receptionist started at half that. It really depends what industry you’re in, I guess. I agree with your main point, that 70k really isnt anything special in the city (that even seems low for an i-banker) but there are lots of people making less - far less - than 50k and gettin by

32

I’d do it. I’m all about the dolllar bills.

Which reminds me, where the hell has DollarBill been?

33

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
I’d do it. I’m all about the Arab Ass.[/quote]

34

There is no way in hell I am working 100 hour weeks. That is insane. I am glad I chose my profession. 4 days a week is the shit especially when I have the time to train and whatever else I want to do.

The money made is useless if you have no time to enjoy it.

35

I just wanted to clarify I am not an investment banker or want to be one. I’m still in college.

36

The odd time my brother-in-law was given a weekend off he would fly home Friday evening from London to Toronto (8 hours), then fly back to London Sunday afternoon and not go to bed but straight to work. That aspect of his life alone I have a hard time fathoming lol!

37

70k for 5200 hours is actually jack shit. That’s only 13 dollars an hour average… If you were paid by the hour, it’s an 11 dollars per hour base rate with time and a half pay after 40 hours. If you make the bonuses and such it works out better but it’s still not spectacular money.

After 5 years, IF they like you, and IF you get promoted, and IF it all goes well, your up to 67 dollars an hour for that 350k. But after 5 years your not going to want to do it, because of all the reasons everyone has already stated.

38

[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
I wouldnt, mainly because I need to be social or else I go batshit.[/quote]

Psshht.

Like anyone could tell.

:slight_smile:

39

me and a friend have discussed this before about racking up student loans for a good job (particularly doctors)

and your dilema* sounds the same. i’d rather bust ass on a “more sure thing” than at a gamble on top of having to rack up more bills.

i’d say find your self in a private business and bust ass working as the “low man” and eventually you’ll get a decent wage and not have the 100k + school loans.

when a man doesnt have much debt it doesnt take much money to have a good life. its what you keep not what you make. keep that in mind.

40

[quote]ty_ty13 wrote:
me and a friend have discussed this before about racking up student loans for a good job (particularly doctors)

and your dilema* sounds the same. i’d rather bust ass on a “more sure thing” than at a gamble on top of having to rack up more bills.

i’d say find your self in a private business and bust ass working as the “low man” and eventually you’ll get a decent wage and not have the 100k + school loans.

when a man doesnt have much debt it doesnt take much money to have a good life. its what you keep not what you make. keep that in mind.[/quote]

BULLSHIT. Go try to buy a house and you will quickly see that it IS very much about how much you make and not just “what you keep”. It is about earning potential and right now, getting a house is like being audited.

Using debt as an excuse to make it seem like student loans make jobs that earn upwards of 100k a year pointless to pursue is a little off.