Thoughts on Job offer at Credit Suisse

Last week Credit Suisse offered me a summer analyst position in their Oil and Gas Investment Banking Division. I accepted immediately because they are considered a top tier investment bank in Houston. I was relived and excited to be done with the interview process that has consumed the last 2 months of my life. If I perform well this summer I will receive a full time offer from Credit Suisse that entails 2 years of being an analyst at an Investment Bank. The hours are going to be brutal (80-100 a week) and I will probably hate my life at points in the two years. The positives are that I will be learning a ton, I will have great opportunities to get into Private Equity and I will be making a good amount of money.

The next three years of my life are now planned out. I am going to work in Houston for the summer, return for my senior year at SMU and then work in Houston for 2 years. I am relived to be done interviewing but this plan ahead of me is depressing in a way. As a sophomore the sky was the limit for me and I could do anything. I was also very unsure of myself. Now my hard work has been acknowledged and I finally believe that I can add value to the company that I am going to work for. But a company owns me for the next three years of my life. My path has been chosen for now.

I am going to make around $120,000 a year out of college. If you told me this a few years ago I would have been ecstatic and wouldn't have believed you. Now I don't really care. This process has made me realize that money really doesn't matter. Family and friends matter more than anything else and I am a little nervous how they will balance with the demands of my job. In all honesty I need to make that kind of money to start paying off my college debt.

My parents are proud of me. They don't really know what Investment Banks do or the concept of bulge bracket banks but they know I am on the right track. I am excited as well, I just imagined myself being happier knowing I have an Investment Banking job lined up. This proves that happiness is relative. People making way less money than me can be just as happy and people making way more money than me can be just as happy. It is all about being content with yourself.

I have poured my efforts into school to get good grades and dedicated countless hours to building my resume. This hard work has led me to this point in my life. I now want to turn my efforts inward. I want to work on making myself a better person. I want to get back to reading for pleasure and expanding my mind. The pursuit of this job has focused all of my attention and mind power on finance. I want to get back to being thirsty for knowledge about the world. I also want to dedicate more time to the relationships that matter. I have not been a great friend to some of the people I love the most. I need to turn my attention back to them and make them realize how much they mean to me. I also need to hit the gym more, I'm getting a little soft.

Thats where I am right now in my life, it is an exciting time to say the least and I am so fortunate to be in the position I am in.