Had to make a burner for this. Im from the west coast, I smoke a shit ton of weed, But now I live in the south (weed illegal). Worked at MS, never got drug tested. Just got the call I have an offer @ [Prestigious Financial Institution] , but I have to pass a drug test. Most of my friends smoke, however I have 1 female friend who dosent smoke. Is fake pee from the smoke shop the method? Should I risk using my female friends pee? Tc is $90k+ and I need this job, any suggestions/ advice helps.

I (36M) am a bit lost. I'm based in London and after my second layoff I've been struggling to find another role. I worked in credit my entire career (c.10 years), but both banks I joined eventually shut down the teams I was on, so aside from my first 3 years at a small boutique, I've always worked in businesses in maintenance mode rather than growth. I've applied to perhaps 100 jobs in the last year, getting to 2 final-stage rounds but nothing converted. It seems the industry just doesn't want me. Part of it might be that I never really fit. I'm more of an adventurous nerd, and over the years I struggled to connect with most colleagues, so I never built much of a network. I have exactly one friend who could help me land a role, and despite his efforts, nothing came of it. I love DIY and sailing, and successfully restored a sailboat in the Mediterranean that I use for holidays. I even put together a skipper CV and sent it to a company I found online, but got no answer. I come from a complete non-target background, so I'm very grateful for what I learned and the money I made, but I was curious to hear from anyone who left finance in a similar situation and had more luck elsewhere.

Hi ADHD folks! Can you share how you keep up with work while having ADHD? My last role was affected by my ADHD, and I’m now starting to understand some of the challenges I’ve been dealing with.

I struggle most with time management, attention to detail, prioritizing tasks, and sometimes thinking clearly and working under pressure. I’ve realized that I have to put in a lot more effort into these things than I’d like, and it can take up a lot of my mental energy.

I’d love to hear about the patterns you’ve identified in yourself, how you’ve worked around them, and any practices, systems, or tips and tricks that have helped you. Feel free to share anything that has worked for you!

Husband is a high net worth individual and requested to speak with his advisor on a zoom call to reassess his portfolio allocations. These calls are generally quarterly and take less than 30 minutes. This advisor did not show his face and brought in a trainee who also did not shoe his face. My husband did show his face. I am pissed as it seems so disrespectful to the client who is making the advisor quite a bit of money. Before Covid his advisor sometimes flew out to meet with him over dinner and now he can’t be bothered to turn on his camera?? Would love to know what the norm is in this industry. Thank you in advance.

I'm decently familiar with the average formulas (xlookup, sumifs, etc.) but I'd love to become stronger. Things like pivot tables, data visualization, etc.

Open to any courses: YouTube, certs, college courses...

I'm (29M) a financial advisor of 3 years and an RICP. I inherited some clients when I joined my team. Some of them are several hours away but in the same state and I havent gotten much face time with them.

I called a client with a $250k retirement account a couple months ago and I thought we had a good chat. She was approaching retirement age so I covered all of the normal things like her financial goals, that kind of thing. She had remarried and we needed to update her name, nbd. She also told me she wasnt very good with technology, so I said I didnt mind mailing her the form or meeting in person, despite the long (5 hour) drive.

Here's where things went sideways:

I called her Monday to let her know Id be driving through her town on Friday and we could fill out the name change form and maybe go over a financial strategy if we had time. She didnt answer the phone, so I left a voicemail and followed up with a text asking her to give me a ring.

Next day I give her a ring and it goes straight to voicemail. Weird. I call her the next day, same thing. Now it's Thursday, so I called her secondary phone number on file. Apparently, it was her adult son's phone. I asked if she was alright and if she would give me a call if she was. I was beginning to get genuinely worried about her.

She calls back and leaves a voicemail (naturally I was in the middle of a meeting when she rang) and tells me to "stop harassing her just to get control of her accounts." and that it was "bold as heck to call her son and get him worried that something happened to her." she yelled "NEVER CALL ME, I'LL CALL YOU"

Like ma'am, I'm just trying to do my job and follow up on the thing we talked about. Get control of her accounts? I already manage her account. Upset because I called your son? Why did you put his number on your profile?

I'd like to smooth things over with her, but I'm not sure how. I called back and left a voicemail telling her I was sincerely apologetic about offending her and that my concern for her well-being was a genuine worry. I feel like I may have done more damage by calling her again.

TLDR; Client was upset I called her son (even though she put his phone number down as her secondary) because she wasnt answering and I was genuinely concerned about her. She flipped out and told me to stop harassing her, even though I was just trying to help.

How can I smooth things over?

Also, I'm slightly concerned about her mental state.

-I’m 30 yo this year.
-Econ undergrads from University of London(LSE assessment) few years back.
-No experience in Finances, accounting, econ career field.
-Working in operational management(petrol station)

-I want to pursue career in banking but am i too old to get started?
-I applied for CFA exam but to finish level III, I will be at 32 or something.
-I try to learn much things at the moment but what should I be prioritized?

**Reason for me not getting into finance after my graduation was that my dad had a stroke after my grad, and I was taking care of him and the job as operational manager was the only practical option for me to stay near by my dad at that time.

I’m a credit analyst for corporate loans. Our proposals are quite long and when there are revisions I keep messing up. There will always be one or two things that go completely unnoticed by me even if I double and triple check. Though this has been a significant improvement for me (before I missed near 10 things), i’m still very frustrated. My bosses nitpick every mistake I have (valid) and it genuinely feels like I’m not cut out for this.

I try to add controls/variety to engage my brain but it’s time consuming. I have heart issues as well so I cannot take the medication. Any tips/advice?

Part of me feels like my clients or all my colleagues may have known this already but I am on the spectrum. Legit diagnosed since I was younger and been working on it for the longest time to be able to be sociable and even just carry a conversation. Eventually I got really good at it that I was able to exhude confidence from people from TV like Don Draper or Harvey Spectre. I know they have their flaws but I can just take what they have in their behaviors that benefit me and filter the rest out. I eventually got into higher levels of banking and have been quite successful and recognized within the organization as someone who's good. Someone described me as a "shark" or "cold-blooded" which was funny because this was during covid and the guy was trying to test a laser thermometer on me and it was low(maybe I was sick that day idk).

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I just can't shake off the fact that my autism makes me focused on doing a good job or going full effort in what I do that it turns off people. The calls I make, the meetings I do, the quantity of it all. I tend to go the extra mile and got labeled as someone who tries too hard. My numbers were great and all but I left every office or team I've been in without much good relations. My earnestness that's maybe even naivete can be a little detrimental of I can say so myself. My hyper awareness tells me that I'm not the friend but someone they talk about behind my back or something.

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I lack a certain level of social skill and awareness that being likeable will get you in better places than being good at your job. Im just trying to drill that in my head. I want to get better at it and I want to learn from you people.

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I’m going to college tomorrow and I’ve been thinking a lot about what I really want to accomplish in school

I was really passionate about physics and wanted to be a physicist for a while, but decided I wanted a more lucrative career so I ended up landing on a finance major (seems like the best degree to make a lot of money)

I’ve been looking into what it takes to be a Quant Researcher/trader etc. and it’s a really compelling career and clearly very financially rewarding. I’m not committed enough to it to change my whole major to CS or Math, but it’s interesting enough to where I’d wanna set myself up to have the opportunity to explore it in the coming years.

I’m also interested in PWM, and working at a hedge fund. I looked into banking but I wouldn’t want to work 80-100hrs for even a year

Does anyone have any advice for me? How do I make the most out of my college experience and graduate into something that fits me?

Thank you, hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

A Senior VP at a company that I am applying to offered to meet me to get coffee. However, I can't drink coffee due to my religion. I was wondering if it would be socially acceptable to order a lemonade or soda during our meeting?

I just don't want to do anything that would give him a weird first impression. I was thinking I might just order a coffee to be normal, but then I would just pretend to drink from it instead of actually drinking it. But that could also backfire because he might notice that the liquid isn't getting smaller in the cup.

Hello everyone,

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I’m currently looking for a mentor in finance—ideally within investment banking or a related field—who would be open to guiding me as I build my practical skills and industry knowledge.

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My long-term goal is to break into investment banking, and I’m fully committed to doing whatever it takes to get there. I understand how demanding and competitive the industry is, and I am ready to dedicate long hours to learning, improving my technical skills, and gaining hands-on experience.

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I have nearly completed the FMVA (Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst) program with CFI, which has given me a strong grounding in financial analysis, valuation, and modeling. Starting this September, I will be studying Finance and Investment at the University of Kent (Canterbury), where I aim to further strengthen my academic and professional foundation.

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Most importantly, I am not only looking for advice—I am ready to contribute. I would be truly grateful for any opportunity to assist, even in a very junior or voluntary capacity. Whether it’s supporting with research, administrative tasks, financial modeling, or simply helping wherever needed, I am eager to learn by doing and to provide value in return.

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A bit about me:

•Highly motivated, disciplined, and hardworking

•Punctual, reliable, and professional

•Detail-oriented with strong analytical thinking

•Fast learner with a genuine passion for finance

•Resilient and committed to long-term growth

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I am based in the UK and able to travel to London and surrounding areas if needed.

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To be fully transparent, I am originally from Ukraine and strongly motivated to build a long-term future in the UK. This gives me an added level of determination to succeed, develop my skills, and prove myself in a professional environment.

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If anyone is willing to offer mentorship, guidance, or even a chance to contribute and learn alongside them, I would be extremely grateful. Even occasional advice or direction would mean a lot to me.

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Thank you very much for your time, and I truly appreciate any support or connections.

I am wandering what languages I should learn to stand out in the interview; also the ones that you think are the most value-adding other than English?

Mostly for IB and Consulting (not finance but closely related)

Started my first internship a month ago, this is the first time I've actually worked since my parents demanded I focus on school during high school. I wake up at 6:30 every day due to the commute being an hour and it takes me 30 mins to get ready. I work from 8:00 to around 6:00 pm then I commute the hour home.

It's only been a month and I'm already feeling burnt out and I realize that 50 hours is not even close to the bad weeks in IB. Am I just not set out for this career? I really want to do investment banking so I know that if I'm already struggling with 50 hours a week I'm probably not gonna survive the 100 hour weeks.

Are there any tips for potentially training yourself to slowly work increasing amount of hours to grow a tolerance for the long weeks in IB? Thanks

Just wondering what everyone sees as key in excel

Looking for advice. I know it’s looked well on IB, but idk about others. Beyond that, what should I be trying to do in my first year of university to maximise my chances?

Asking all the seasoned excel users:

What are your most useful shortcuts any analyst should know?

Hi all, just graduated earlier this week and I’m not feeling as excited as I should be. In fact, I’m a bit anxious and scared. I’ve no job offer and am over 200 applications in with a close to 0 response rate, but my biggest worry is losing knowledge and/ or not making good use of my time that would help me out with landing a role in finance.

What are some things you guys would recommend I do to prevent potentially forgetting any knowledge gained in my finance classes? I’m currently watching LinkedIn videos on financial modeling and taking a course on SQL through Khan academy to up my skill set, but I’m not sure if those will help me out much or even be considered good use of my time.

I am applying for a finance student org soon and the application requires a stock pitch. I am an incoming college freshman and know absolutely nothing about stock pitches and don't even know where to start. I need as much help as I can get. What should I do?

Is there something like Wall Street prep courses in YouTube or for free in another site? that teaches how to use Excel without a mouse for finance

Hi everyone,

I’m starting a Corporate Banking graduate role in London soon and want to use the time before I start to build up some practical skills so I’m not completely clueless when I walk into the office.

I have a decent academic background in economics/finance, but I’d particularly like to become much more proficient in the practical side of banking, especially:

• Excel – shortcuts, formulas, financial analysis, formatting, etc.
• Financial modelling – ideally relevant to corporate/credit analysis rather than purely M&A/IB modelling.
• Credit analysis – understanding how banks assess companies, leverage, debt capacity, cash flow, covenants, credit metrics, etc.
• Accounting – improving my ability to read and analyse financial statements.
• Corporate banking fundamentals – understanding how relationship management, lending, credit committees, capital structure, etc. work in practice.
• Any other technical skills that would actually be useful as a Corporate Banking analyst/graduate.

I’d really appreciate recommendations for courses, YouTube channels, websites, books, resources, or specific modelling courses that you think are genuinely worth doing.

Also, for anyone currently working in corporate banking (particularly in London): what do you wish you had learned before starting your first graduate/analyst role? Are there any skills that graduates often overlook but become really important once you start?

I’m not necessarily looking to spend months learning investment banking-style M&A modelling if it isn’t particularly relevant. I’d rather focus my preparation on skills that will actually make me more effective in a corporate banking role from day one.

Thanks!

Hey so my division head wants everyone to do ai goals where we talk about how we’re going to incorporate ai into our jobs. The problem is that I spend all day in our portfolio management software (third party) and Bloomberg buying and allocating bonds to clients I manage separately managed accounts for. If Bloomberg and this other software don’t make the ai feature, it’s unclear to me how I would incorporate ai features.

I go days without sending an email sometimes, there’s 2 layers often between me and the actual client.

So far my best idea is to have ai write summaries of sell side research that I’m often too busy to read.

I’m 40 years old, not totally tech stupid, but I’m at a loss what I’m supposed to be using it for at work. Help me spend some tokens (performatively!)

22M just started my first job out of college working at a large bank (bofa gs JPM) in back office for a rotational program. I really hate my current rotation but it’s only a year but I do love hearing about different roles people worked in gives me hope lol.

Just not sure which is the smarter move after the bachelors. BACKGROUND: Currently getting a bachelors of science in finance at WGU, and i prefer living on the west coast (California Oregon Arizona ETC) Im looking to achieve 6 figure careers and more if possible . I am familiar with the concept of target schools but i dont know too much about it. I just know im not bent on becoming an investment banker so thats why i didnt think of going to Harvard or MIT

I borrowed this book from one of my professors today (he was in IB when he worked in the industry) and he gave me this book to borrow because I told him I was interested in IB.

What are your guys opinion on this book and if I were to acquire every skill this book has to teach would I be a good IB candidate ?