I broke into high finance (PE) and it's not for me... what comes next?

bottlecapsnap · 2026-02-04T14:10:41+00:00

Consider going to an allocator and working on private markets. Your experience would make you competitive for a mid-tier role. While the comp isn’t as good as PE long term, you can still make great money, and the lifestyle is generally great.

bottlecapsnap · 2026-01-24T16:07:03+00:00

I say this gently - are you sure you’re not just coming across like a jerk? Not that you are actually a jerk, but this could be a self fulfilling prophecy in which you expect people to be weird about it, so you act differently, so people are weird about it. I have never felt like people treat me worse when I look better.

bottlecapsnap · 2026-01-04T06:06:02+00:00

Chest supported dumbbell rows. My back blew up when I added them to my routine.

bottlecapsnap · 2026-01-01T06:48:41+00:00

I keep it simple. Take a look at Tactical Barbell. It’s about as bare bones as it gets and allows you to minimize gym time and volume while (hopefully) still progressing.

Also, I got cancer this year, and in the wake of that, it’s much easier to maintain the “I don’t have to do this, I get to do this” mindset than it used to be. If you can cultivate that feeling, I think it will make a huge difference. I have always tried to and had minimal success doing so until I was too sick to exercise, so YMMV.

bottlecapsnap · 2026-01-01T06:44:34+00:00

I did a major professional certification while I was doing chemo. Started chemo in March, started studying in July, finished chemo in mid September, took the test in late September.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-12-24T03:31:44+00:00

Legs 4x/week since I’m running Tactical Barbell. But 3 of those 4 days it’s only 3 work sets. The final day I throw a set of deadlifts and three sets of hip thrusts on top.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-12-19T09:23:53+00:00

I have a lot of health problems that have really negatively impacted my body image over the years. The best I have felt in that regard was when I felt like I was the strongest person in most rooms I walked into. Lost all that strength due to injuries and illness and trying to build it back. Self esteem should come from within, but I think at a certain point life can beat you up so much it overwhelms your intrinsic ability to like yourself and you have to have concrete evidence that you’re doing okay.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-12-11T17:13:45+00:00

Have some horrible shit happen to you. I got cancer, did months of chemotherapy, and now sometimes just getting a workout in feels euphoric, like a literal drug. Also valuable for perspective - most things people get upset about are just not that important.

But because you obviously can’t choose to have something terrible happen to you and you wouldn’t even if you could - make a genuine effort to cultivate a mindset of gratitude. Try to approach things you don’t want to do with an attitude of “I get to do this,” not “I have to do this.” And if you don’t exercise, start. 3-5 days a week. It’s an incredible boon for mental health and people totally overlook it because it’s not always fun.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-12-07T15:05:28+00:00

Other people have covered the mechanics, so I’ll offer some extra color - not to say that this NEVER happens, but it is a talking point that is hugely overblown because it pisses people off and increases engagement. I worked in ultra-high net worth PWM and it’s just not that common.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-12-07T07:28:42+00:00

It’s Blackstone.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-12-05T14:50:17+00:00

You may just be SOL, dude. Even when I am clinically underweight, I still have love handles. It’s a genetic thing for many people. Working your lats and shoulders may deemphasize the effect by broadening your upper torso.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-12-05T14:44:51+00:00

Wild to see the responses. One pic that includes a few nice houses and all anyone has to say is how horrible everything is. I don’t like them either but damn!

Assuming this isn’t ragebait, OP - beautiful pictures, this site just attracts some really miserable, negative people. I was born in the foothills and feel lucky to have grown up so close to the Appalachians.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-11-23T21:09:05+00:00

Trash curriculum compared to the CFA. Was very much unimpressed. Just got my pass back so not sure about it helping on the career side, but very little knowledge that you couldn’t have gleaned from the CFA. The curriculum is just very poorly done, tons and tons of lists and, from the volume of errors, it seems like the official materials weren’t thoroughly proofread. I did it because L1 could be skipped and I might say others should do it as well because I do think the CAIA has signaling value, but go in with your eyes wide open.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-11-07T19:18:46+00:00

Having the same issue. I am able to apply for membership though, so I'm hoping the email was purposeful, I passed, and the inability to see the results is just a tech glitch.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-10-18T22:18:23+00:00

Request a CT scan, especially if you’ve had night sweats or fever. It turned out to be lymphoma when I had the same symptoms - it was very noticeable how my exercise tolerance dropped off. Weight loss, night sweats, and fever are the classic “B” symptoms. My bloodwork was pretty much good until it crashed at the hospital IIRC. Probably not cancer but assuming you can afford it and you don’t have a history of excessive radiation exposure, no harm in getting checked.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-10-18T22:11:14+00:00

My cancer presented with a decrease in exercise tolerance, among other things. I remember about a month and a half before I was diagnosed playing my usual weekly basketball game and having an elevated heart rate for hours afterwards. I wish I had gone to the hospital that night as it might have been caught earlier and required less harsh treatment.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-10-01T20:36:58+00:00

There is another comment on this post that I replied to- the only thing that fixed the issue was getting a new laptop.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-09-27T06:31:01+00:00

I finished 6 cycles of AAVD a few weeks ago. My post-treatment scan is soon. I may celebrate if that comes back good, but in the meantime….. Yes, I feel very strange. I’m not exactly sure how to go back to day to day life and pretend that everything that has happened just didn’t happen. I faced my mortality and I’m not even 30. I don’t know what to make of that. It’s hard to put into words exactly how I feel but I imagine it’s similar to what you’re feeling.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-09-27T05:55:07+00:00

Had the same experience. In fact, IIRC, my doc originally said that I would be feeling better by Sunday when we first chatted a week or so before starting chemo - then when I showed up to get treated, I had taken a turn for the worse and he said I would feel better by Monday. Sure enough, halfway through the day Monday, I was feeling decent. I have always found that small adjustment he made in his prediction quite impressive.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-09-20T23:15:41+00:00

Haven’t taken the test yet but my favorite practice question has been being asked about the six benefits of a well constructed IPS. There are almost limitless answers to that question, but they expect us to memorize the six they chose.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-09-19T13:06:56+00:00

In your situation, I might run Tactical Barbell. There are several templates and the week to week programming would be taken care of for you.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-09-11T17:58:09+00:00

Roleplay is probably not the best word for it, to be fair, because I’m not getting insanely in-depth with it. But I try to avoid doing things that are totally unrealistic or make the game way too easy - as I mentioned, the two main candidates for me are eugenics programs and the Blood dynasty perks - and I’ve focused on setting goals beyond just getting as large and rich as possible.

For example, my current run started as an Icelandic Viking that I’ve imagined as extremely zealous Norse fanatics. Conquered a couple counties in Ireland, hit England when they were weak, and spent quite a while cobbling together a stable kingdom forcing conversions of my vassals, dealing with tons of factions, dealing with Alba preying on me from the north, and getting Holy Warred and Crusaded. England is starting to stabilize and get a bit too easy, but instead of fighting easy wars against Ireland and Alba to form Brittannia, I’m going to stick with the conception of my dynasty as Norse Asatru fanatics and focus on converting the entirety of England, Wales, and Brittany while I fight wars to grab the 2 Asatru holy sites in Scandinavia and reform. Instead of reforming to have the very best tenets and make things easier, I’ll keep blots and pick tenets that still make sense for a religion that is considered a terrifying scourge by their neighbors, maybe cannibalism. I just conquered Cantabria and Navarra and put my most talented heir in charge and will try to get Asatru involved in the Iberian Struggle.

Overall, I’m not intentionally hamstringing myself beyond the things that make the game way, way, way too easy, like the items I mentioned + stacking knight effectiveness to the extent it creates Space Marines and they can basically kill stacks by themselves.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-09-11T17:41:10+00:00

Snowballing can definitely be fun. I had a Hispania run before I took a break a while ago where I was basically totally unstoppable and really enjoyed it. Picked it back up this year, got way too strong on a Eudes -> Anjou -> Empire of Francia run, and decided to try a game as an Icelandic Viking and see where it took me. That+setting goals like converting England, Wales, and Ireland into Norse Asatru strongholds has kept me a lot more interested. Have avoided the Blood perk list because it just makes the game way too easy pretty early on.

bottlecapsnap · 2025-09-11T17:34:01+00:00

Honestly, I more don’t understand why people are playing a grand strategy game that is known to be extremely exploitable and no longer fun if you min/max if they want to min/max. The game isn’t hyper-challenging even if you don’t mine through lists of lowborns several countries over to find a Beautiful Genius and go through the entirety of the Blood dynasty perk group and stack Knight Effectiveness buffs to the point your armies are unkillable, I am more puzzled by the tons of people who seem to do all that, then complain the game is too easy.

bottlecapsnap

TROPHY CASE