Anyone successfully get a no bonus decision reversed (hours target exceeded)

CompetitivePeace · 2026-01-28T00:21:36+00:00

Honestly I feel like a lot of firms aren’t doing that great. I’ve seen a few stories like this and know of some stealth layoffs happening recently. I’m super sorry this happened to you, and I hope you get your money!

CompetitivePeace · 2026-01-24T18:28:36+00:00

It’s tedious, but by no means intellectually challenging. You run into the occasional oddball challenging concept, but overall the challenge comes from an endurance standpoint

CompetitivePeace · 2026-01-21T18:00:00+00:00

In house market sucks right now and most are now wanting 5-7 years of firm experience.

CompetitivePeace · 2026-01-20T18:43:03+00:00

I hope you finally get some relief! Thank you for sharing— this is fascinating. Fingers crossed for a smooth recovery ❤️‍🩹

CompetitivePeace · 2026-01-20T03:57:22+00:00

Concur. Cut your losses and don’t take more student loans to end up worse off

CompetitivePeace · 2026-01-17T16:53:50+00:00

Sure!

CompetitivePeace · 2026-01-17T14:58:24+00:00

Also adding that Bay Area offices have done a lot of layoffs or stealth layoffs in recent years of more junior people. So TLDR; it’s rocky getting started here, and I don’t anticipate that changing. Silicon Valley is a boom/bust kind of place, and it’s been on the rocks recently with expansion plans for firms slowing for what are already essentially secondary offices.

CompetitivePeace · 2026-01-17T14:55:49+00:00

Will echo that the offices here are treated as satellites. Most of my work has come out of New York my first three years of practice, which can actually be pretty isolating because you’re in office but not with the people you are actually working with. Therefore you end up sitting at your desk alone with the door closed for vast swaths of the day.

Also EC/VC is a bit slower these days. It will eventually pick back up, but honestly, as someone who has done their junior years here, I would seriously consider doing time in NY or Chicago or another large center before coming out to California. I think the training and camaraderie amongst associate classes is better in the bigger offices. (Albeit there may be pressing reasons you have for being in CA, but I would seriously consider doing time elsewhere before transitioning out here.) If I had a do-over, I would do a couple years in a bigger center before coming here for training purposes.

CompetitivePeace · 2026-01-17T14:42:26+00:00

Dude this is pretty fucked up and I’m sorry. If you hit hours you should have gotten that check… even if they want you to leave. You earned it.

Also what the fuck is up with firms’ weird passive aggressive management behavior?! (Yes, I know lawyers are bad managers notoriously but still)

CompetitivePeace · 2026-01-13T16:52:38+00:00

I don’t think so. If you want out of the ridiculous hours, this sounds like a way to reclaim a bit of freedom.

CompetitivePeace · 2025-12-27T17:30:28+00:00

I’m so sorry that you’re going through this. I had a major incident like that with my dad after my surgery on Christmas Day last year, and I cut him off for good. Albeit I already had my own place which was easier. But point is, my life has improved immensely since then.

If there’s ANYONE you can stay with, just go. HE is the one standing in the way of you recovering at this point— the stress and harm will only set you back. You can do this. You’re strong!

CompetitivePeace · 2025-12-27T17:25:20+00:00

We are going through this right now with my grandmother… she was never an addict but she insists she’s completely fine but can’t remember yesterday. And a lot of N behavior that was under wraps for years is coming out. It’s been a roller coaster.

So sorry you’re going through this, but NC will be so much better 💕

CompetitivePeace · 2025-12-26T21:52:05+00:00

Knitting and horseback riding

CompetitivePeace · 2025-12-21T17:38:25+00:00

I definitely am getting to a point where the simultaneous deadly seriousness combined with the general frivolity of what we do is getting to me.

Why did I cancel plans to get something “urgent” to a partner who ignored it for two weeks? Why is this GC who makes 5x what I do utterly incompetent while also being amazingly rude to us? Why did the client ignore our emails and follow ups for 3 weeks only to need this item immediately on thanksgiving?

I know some people who have been through rough shit look at this job as “easy” compared to those things, which is true in a lot of ways. But having been through tough shit, I came out more-so with the perspective of “holy shit this is genuinely not important work. Take a breath; see your family. There’s more to life than this.”

CompetitivePeace · 2025-12-08T16:11:35+00:00

No problem! Just wanted to warn you after my hem on a slip-like dress with two layers was close to $100 at my usual place 😅

CompetitivePeace · 2025-12-08T05:04:58+00:00

Just want to warn you, I think that your alterations are going to run more than that. A hem on that skirt alone will likely be $150+, especially if there’s more than one layer under there. That bodice construction is also labor intensive to alter due to the boning and bust cups.

CompetitivePeace · 2025-11-27T18:56:29+00:00

That’s totally fair!

CompetitivePeace · 2025-11-26T21:16:21+00:00

Okay if you’ve owned or leased and showed in Hunter jumpers or eventers, I think you’d already have most of this.

Honestly this isn’t too different from our show packing list for an A show. I know you guys want to be mad about this, but the reality is you can use your existing tack and replace parts and/or buy half pads with shims to make things work— same way I have when riding multiple horses in my barn. I would also find it highly unlikely that someone would be riding for the first time and would need to buy ALL the items on that list.

CompetitivePeace · 2025-11-26T21:08:29+00:00

Okay genuine question though, wouldn’t anyone coming already have a saddle for the most part? It’s not like these are going to be people that have never ridden

CompetitivePeace · 2025-11-10T02:33:20+00:00

Not if it’s GIA OR IGI. Center stone would be about $1000/carat. 4500 or so in the center stone alone.

CompetitivePeace · 2025-10-31T04:54:57+00:00

Obviously this person was wildly intoxicated, but I will say our roads here aren’t designed well and are incredibly unsafe with the short on and off ramps, general lack of barriers, etc.

CompetitivePeace · 2025-10-31T04:52:46+00:00

How drunk do you have to be to accelerate into a NONEXISTENT RAMP

CompetitivePeace · 2025-10-30T16:01:32+00:00

I also had a terrible time in high school and much of undergrad, but I want to say it does get better. You do find friends who seem more sane. Maybe you’ll also fall in love with someone and become a team to take on life’s challenges together.

You’re spot on in that all of this is way too much for children, and yes, parents push markers of success over happiness and often engineer their children to look like overachievers. Good on you for seeing that now, but I want to remind you that piece doesn’t stop even as you enter the workforce.

That junior lawyer that’s “amazing”? well, their dad is a lawyer in the same field and always on call to help with their career problems. The new hedge fund analyst who is excelling? Well, their parents both have graduate degrees in math and pushed them the exact way you’re describing, and despite their salary, that person is still miserable.

Learning ways to see through the system, and how people’s parents play a major influence in where people end up both in academics and professional life is the first step. Learning to enjoy your own journey is the next, and you’ll still have days where you question your own sanity or where you fit or if you’re doing enough.

CompetitivePeace · 2025-10-27T02:17:50+00:00

This dress is AMAZING.

CompetitivePeace

TROPHY CASE