I dont know what I am doing- finance careers

I am a student studying Economics at the LSE and I always thought I had wanted to go into investment banking. Recently after realising its a job for extreme extroverts and very reliant on connections etc, along with some other things I dont really see as aligning with me, I've realised it might not be for me. I am not sure what else to do, I understand I still have time as a first year university student, but everyone seems as if they know exactly what they are doing. How do I figure out what I want to do? I can complete work experience at spring weeks etc but I dont even know what path to apply to in finance, and I dont think my knowledge on the different career paths is too great. I have researched into hedge funds, quant and more but still dont really understand what any of it would mean for me, and it does not appeal to me either.

Has anyone been in this position? And what did you do about it?

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

Original post

by Anonymous

I am a student studying Economics at the LSE and I always thought I had wanted to go into investment banking. Recently after realising its a job for extreme extroverts and very reliant on connections etc, along with some other things I dont really see as aligning with me, I've realised it might not be for me. I am not sure what else to do, I understand I still have time as a first year university student, but everyone seems as if they know exactly what they are doing. How do I figure out what I want to do? I can complete work experience at spring weeks etc but I dont even know what path to apply to in finance, and I dont think my knowledge on the different career paths is too great. I have researched into hedge funds, quant and more but still dont really understand what any of it would mean for me, and it does not appeal to me either.
Has anyone been in this position? And what did you do about it?

Let's try looking at it this way:

•

Is doing a lot of maths a prerequisite in the role that you want?

•

Are you happy selling to clients and finding people to sell to?

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Do you see yourself providing advice at all?

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Are you into maximising clients' returns?

•

How much money do you aim to earn?

•

What locations are you willing to be in for your line of work?

•

What is it about finance that appealed to you in the first place?

•

What would excite you in a job?

Reply 2

teresasong18

I can understand how you're feeling and it's great that you can admit to yourself, that this isn't the path for you. I was at LSE like you, studying Econ and going all out on investment banking, because I thought that was the dream. At LSE, it's very normal to be surrounded by people who know exactly what they want. That doesn't mean that they truly y know what they want. They just think they do. I was one of them.

I think there are a number of ways to think about this. The answer above is helpful, but I would take a step even further back to ask you, what are your strengths and weaknesses, what do you like/dislike about Econ, are you driven by money, do you see yourself doing a Masters to explore more of your interests. Being a first year, you have the advantage of exploring. Try as many things as you can, experiment. Don't feel like you have to do something because everyone says it's good. Align your strengths to your interests, figure our the intersections and then approach the career angle. There is so much out there. It is super normal to feel overwhelmed and lost, especially at LSE. You can be in your 30s and still be figuring out what you want and that's totally fine too, so being in your first year and acknowledging this, is great. Sending positive vibes.

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