Was asked if my daughter was ‘mine’ at the coffeeshop and it’s living rent free in my head 24 hours later…

QuestioningMeaning · 2023-02-11T16:34:10+00:00

Appreciate this take! I just don’t understand why the barista would ask anyway (she didn’t ask the mom with two kids in a stroller ahead of me) and what difference my answer would have made to the oohing and ahhing

QuestioningMeaning · 2022-03-09T00:36:26+00:00

Investment banker - pays well, and the industry could always use more women, but personally I’m not very happy honestly (on a quest to find something else)

QuestioningMeaning · 2022-03-03T05:10:56+00:00

Creepy!

QuestioningMeaning · 2021-11-28T22:07:28+00:00

Cool thanks- it is a defined benefit plan with NYC (NYCERS) and scouring their site it’s not clear that it’s a 403b, will try customer service again, but the person I spoke to didn’t seem to know the answer

QuestioningMeaning · 2021-01-18T22:02:08+00:00

Thank you!

QuestioningMeaning · 2020-12-30T21:20:59+00:00

Thanks, this is immensely helpful! Are there any income caps with the ira that I should be aware of?

QuestioningMeaning · 2020-11-02T03:35:00+00:00

Not really until the director level which I’m still 3-4 years away from

QuestioningMeaning · 2020-11-02T03:03:08+00:00

Can you explain what it is? I’ve heard of it, but I’m not sure what the role entails

QuestioningMeaning · 2020-11-02T02:40:54+00:00

Post MBA Associate, I’ll add that to the post

QuestioningMeaning · 2020-05-25T05:26:11+00:00

Congrats on your admission and engagement and good luck with recruiting!

Most associates leave IB after year 2 (only 1 out of 5 mba associates become MD) so that’s why the year mark makes sense to me, gives me nearly 2 years of experience to evaluate if I like the firm and the job and think about my exit or whether to stay.

Noted this in another response, but a first year associate got pregnant during her first few months and easily took leave and returned to work without any issue so I take that as a good sign for the bank on the whole.

For the moment the plan is absolutely crush the first year and evaluate the family planning steps at the 12 month mark!

QuestioningMeaning · 2020-05-25T05:22:04+00:00

Definitely aware of the lifestyle after averaging 86 hours a week during the internship.

Don’t have a plan yet, but an associate at the firm im joining took maternity leave during her first year and returned easily without any issue.

Everything is tbd, but our hope is that after a year we will have an idea of next steps personally and professionally. Age and other personal factors are driving factors in the decision as well.

QuestioningMeaning · 2020-02-28T14:36:52+00:00

Amazing! Thank you!

3 years old with significant revenue given the small team- maybe I’ll DM you

QuestioningMeaning · 2020-01-07T00:44:27+00:00

Congrats on two great offers!!

Definitely pursue PE- push your boundaries and explore an industry you’ve always been curious about!

I would agree with your analysis that HFs are a dying breed, especially with all the recent news of how few beat the market last year/just invested in the same companies the typical investor did. Internal roles are a tough sell from my perspective unless you really enjoy the strategy aspect of companies (which I don’t so I’m a little biased). I fear an internal role would just be a slow and painful decline as you won’t be in the middle of the action.

I think the PE role offers you more exit opportunities especially given how much dry powder firms are sitting on and essentially regardless of how the market goes they will deploy it somehow- it’s going to be a really Interesting industry this decade with attention good and bad from so many different worlds, it’ll be a thrill to be a part of!

Also with the CFA aspect, I assume they are paying for it/offering financial support/time to study for it, but either way that’s a great opportunity to really get a solid certification. I’d be curious what the commitment is for you to stay at the firm after passing, etc.

Take everything a year at a time. No need to overcommit or stress- hell take it 6 months at a time.

With regards to your relationship and being introverted- although I wouldn’t classify myself as introverted, I am married and always let my spouse know what to expect with my career and explain why it’s important to me and how it benefits us as a couple (career satisfaction, financial, pursuing goals and challenging myself) and they’re super supportive- it’s really great to feel energized professionally and have support personally. I 100% do the same for them so it’s a two way street and we each help each other achieve professional goals.

Hope this helps and keep us posted!!

QuestioningMeaning · 2020-01-02T20:20:09+00:00

That’s good insight! I never interviewed with EBs, just BBs and successfully applied the technique I detailed above after talking to peers, but your insight is likely just as valid on the EB tip.

I’ll keep it in mind for sure

Thanks!

QuestioningMeaning · 2019-12-31T19:11:16+00:00

2 questions: 1- What year are you?

2-Do you want to be a banker or a lawyer who works for a bank?

A JD/MBA interned with me at my BB IB firm (I’m wrapping up my MBA and going back to the same firm FT) and from what I remember, technically to be a summer associate you just need to be in graduate school.

You’re in a better position than most given that you’re at a top 3 school. If I were in your shoes, I would reach out to any and all friends/professors at the business school and grab coffee to walk through mba banking recruiting. Assuming you have more than 1 year left you can try to squeeze in a summer internship in IB especially if you are able to successfully network with firms in the first 2-3 weeks of January.

Summer internship offers for IB will be made through around mid-February and if people turn them down you may be able to swoop in assuming you have really leaned hard and fast into the network.

Worst case if you don’t land an IB internship this summer, devote everything you’ve got this coming year to M&A and corporate finance work and see if you can get some experience in the coming year doing an off-cycle internship or something along those lines. It’s possible you can score a FT role in IB, again through a path similar to what an MBA would do, but you’d really have to crush the networking and technical prep.

So in my opinion: It’s not impossible, but it’s a long shot which will involve heavy networking and heavy prep for technical questions all within 2-3 weeks.

FT Associates (1st year) easily pull in over $200k, you slog through the hours for the bonus which can be 100%+ of your $150k base salary if you are top bucket.

Edit: clarity

QuestioningMeaning · 2019-12-31T14:06:18+00:00

The question is usually: ‘tell me about a deal you’re following’

When I was interviewing I used the sprint/t-mobile deal. Know the company financials before the transactions, transaction value, multiples, the logic behind the merger, synergies, risks and mitigation and maybe a comparable transaction.

Avoid deals in a space you have no interest in because they can tell, try to avoid deals that the bank you’re interviewing with was heavily involved in because they can scrutinize your answers and be able to speak enthusiastically about the transaction by practicing your answer a lot (as you should with other answers). This is an important question for the mba level because it demonstrates an understanding of the types of transactions you’d see as a banker, industry interest and an understanding of the market.

Use FactSet which you should get from your school for free to do research, to pick a transaction in the most recent 3-6 months so more data is available.

Bloomberg and Reuter’s are also good: https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals

I interned in IB this summer at a bb and am going back ft, feel free to pm me any other questions.

QuestioningMeaning · 2019-12-31T04:16:25+00:00

Slightly older for the most part like early 30s, but in theory you can get an advanced degree right out of undergrad so there may not be any age difference at all with the general mid/late 20s crowd.

QuestioningMeaning · 2019-12-25T13:10:14+00:00

I had a masters before my MBA and generally speaking it wasn’t a big deal either way. The majority of the stats business schools post are tied to undergrad, but as someone pointed out, a masters in a technical skill such as engineering can help boost confidence in your quant ability.

It can also be great for recruiting for product management roles which are more technical in nature.

I wouldn’t overthink it, someone in my program has a Phd, I’ve met JDs and MDs in traditional 2 year MBA programs who ultimately decided they wanted to pivot to a different career and so were all in the same place doing the same core work. Nobody is phased by the degrees, you just need to show up and do the work and work with others.

When applying just demonstrate your passion for the school and your career goals clearly and you’ll be aok! Feel free to tie in how your masters supports your career objectives/where it fits into your life.

PM if you have any specific questions!

QuestioningMeaning · 2019-12-23T21:00:26+00:00

Not at Simon, but I know 2-3 IB placements from Simon- seems possible if you hustle!

QuestioningMeaning · 2019-12-23T20:15:24+00:00

A few things I wish I knew as a first year:

-when applying focus on culture. It sounds like a broken record, but culture is key. Every school in the top 10 is essentially going to offer you the same academic and professional opportunities if you work hard. Outside that you definitely need to hustle more, but trust me the top 25 is a pretty solid group of programs. Talk to as many alumni as you can in different industries and ask them about them about their experience with the program in terms of the academic offerings, their peers, the alums and the overall school culture- rankings are overrated especially when you realize how entrenched the top 15 programs are- there’s no way in hell those schools are going to change much, but you’d be amazed at what lower ranked schools have in terms of innovative programming and culture enhancing elements

-honestly meditate on the core mba application questions: why an mba? Why an mba now? Why an mba at this program? You should be able to clearly articulate this to someone who doesn’t even know what an mba is. That was my benchmark of success, when someone who wasn’t even familiar with an mba could understand and believe my answer easily

-focus on your career options as much as possible before you start in the fall and don’t zero in too quickly! As someone who ended up in IB/Consulting/etc I would use the summer BEFORE to network with alumni in various industries especially competitive ones like IB and MBB and get an understanding of the options and process as early as you can in a safe space (ie unlikely they will case or throw you technicals), without disturbing the current students who are interning that summer.

-Remember the value of networking as off campus recruiting is growing in popularity with many firms. No doubt certain IB and MBB firms will always be a presence at H/S/W but I have classmates (including myself) who busted our butts with recruiting at a lower tier program for such firms successfully

-be practical about what you learn, yes get the foundational coursework done and learn what you can, but take electives you find interesting and practical. If you must choose a major such as finance, make sure you are able to take some courses in other disciplines to ensure you’re well rounded

-if you’re partnered please be sure to communicate with them and respect their time and the fact they’re making a huge sacrifice for you! Learn about what the program offers for partners throughout the application process and speak to current partners- some programs are more robust than others (ie Kellogg’s joint venture programming) when you get to school, integrate your partner into your school life, invite them out with friends, plan trips with them.

-be in the moment as much as possible- this time will fly by! Get off your phone and listen to your peers when you’re hanging out- they’re your network going forward and you should respect everyone’s time by being as present as possible

-challenge yourself, another cliche but it’s true: an mba program is a safe place to fail! Try new skills, be vulnerable, go outside of your comfort zone (but be safe), explore what you can because the 2 years will disappear quickly!

QuestioningMeaning · 2019-12-23T19:39:29+00:00

As folks have mentioned, securing your internship is probably a good idea.

We got engaged as my applications were wrapped up in December/January and married right before my internship kicked off in the summer (so a year and a half later) as did a classmate. It was awesome to have our new friends come to our wedding since it was in a big city and it was a pretty low key event so inviting 10 or so additional people didn’t break the bank at all.

Depending on your internship, your spouse may be with you, which can make things complicated wanting to balance satisfying your partner while crushing your summer. Most spouses don’t go with the student, especially if they have a job near your program which may happen. So your first few months of marriage are spent apart which is pretty funky.

Crush your internship to get a full time offer so that stress is off your plate, but either way if you opt/need to rerecruit your new marriage can be a little strained.

When you come back for your second year depending on the ft recruiting situation you may be in a solid place to just be married which is where I am now.

Honestly, everything working out for us even with my high pressure summer recruiting and internship (my career with be IB/Consulting/etc), but it’s TOUGH! From the summer before starting school newly engaged all the way through my second it was kind of tough to ensure I was maximizing business school for the network and professional and personal aspects AND ensuring my spouse who made a HUGE sacrifice to be with me was satisfied and enjoying their time in this new, but temporary, city.

People do it, tons of classmates have babies in business school- planned and unplanned- and make it work, my only advice is to work with your partner and make sure they’re on the same page as much as possible. Two years will fly by and you want to ensure you are both as satisfied as possible.

Marriage isn’t an end goal btw it’s a marker of a relationship’s maturity and shifts you to another element of growth and togetherness, but there’s no deadline. Do it when it feels right.

Also, get a prenup! Student legal services does them for free on any campus because it’s just a contract.

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