Soph Internship Killing Me
Writing this at 11pm from my desk the night before 4th of July.
Currently doing my soph summer internship at a LMM PE firm. It’s a young but solid shop, super lean investment team, mostly consists of people who were at bigger shops before this and then left to start their own fund.
I’m signed at an MF PE for SA 25 (and the group I’m gonna be at is known for being sweaty as fuck), so I figured this LMM gig this summer would be a great way to learn the ropes and build a decent PE skill set before my MF gig next summer, while getting to enjoy a slightly more chill WLB for one last summer.
I was right about the learning part — great exposure to all parts of a deal process, lean team so I get to take on a good bit of responsibility, being mentored really well, etc.
But man, was I wrong about the chill WLB part. I went into this internship thinking they’re a pretty small shop, so would probably just have to work 50/60 hours max. But I am getting cooked. For a small shop, they have a very solid deal pipeline, with new stuff flowing in very frequently because the senior guys are really well connected. A pipeline like theirs definitely warrants more bodies on the team but they just haven’t expanded. As a result, I’m working 80+ hours consistently, and the earliest I’ve left the office this whole internship so far is 10pm (which was on my first day).
And now I’m sitting here staring at the NYC skyline out the window with Excel cells burned into my eyes, while my friends have already left the city for their July 4th plans.
Not sure if this long ass post even has a point, just another college kid venting. I’m just a little annoyed because I thought this was the last summer I’d be able to take it a little easy, and idk if getting a slightly better “learning experience” or “exposure” is worth the trade off.
Oh well, if anyone has any comments that will help me cope, send em my way. Happy 4th of July, folks. Have a safe one.
If you don't know how to push back to work now that it's still your sophomore internship with zero consequences / return offer on the line, good luck pushing back work after your internship starts fulltime. Some personalities just attract extra grindy work like a magnet while some personalities repel them.
This is a hilariously bad take. You’re blaming the kid’s personality as the reason why a bunch of hardo seniors can’t chill a little and stop overloading him with work during a SOPHOMORE summer internship? Wtf
Not blaming. But I am telling him he needs to learn how to develop this skill. Managing up is a crucial life skill. You don't choose your seniors. You can only choose how you react to them.
Curious to hear more about which personalities attract / repel extra work.
Hard to really describe. There are "chad" juniors (male or female) that obviously have a very outspoken but also abrasive personality that all the staffers would think twice about before blowing up their weekends because they know they would get attitude. Then there are people that are very obviously yesman. And then there are people who are nice and friendly but use the mental health / physical health excuse very, very well, or are just able to pretend they are busy on something else. The point is it's easier to dodge work in this industry than you think in 2024. It's just most people who are here are too eager / yesman from 20 years of being complimented as being "a good kid" to ever consider that option.
This might be the worst take I’ve ever read on a forum. You’re faulting a sophomore for not knowing how to push back on work? Brother, I see VP’s and Associates not able to push back on work, let alone analysts. The kid is literally 19 probably being assigned work by partners who are more than twice his age at this lean LMM PE shop.
Where did I blame him and say it's his fault? I am making it clear that this is a key skillset to begin developing and he should have no remorse / fear about pushing back given it has no consequences. If you don't agree with that, IDK what to say.
I know it might not feel like it right now, but it'll be worth it.
Yah, while on average LMM and MM might have better hours than MF PE, there is a much greater dispersion, and unlike MF PE where basically every shop will be around 70 - 80 hours, there is no norm.
It sucks but it's temporary and you least know you'll have 2 years of college left without working. Try to push back in the sense of clarifying deadlines and what's absolutely most important ahead of time, so that you can hold off on sending deliverables until they're absolutely needed to save you some time/stress. You'll want to perform well and leave a good impression / have a good experience, but you can do this in a strategic way without overloading yourself (especially since you're not staying at this shop). Just change your mindset to expect them to always blow up your weekends / give unreasonable requests, so that you're not disappointed every time it happens. But recognize them doing this now will just make you better prepared to handle it at the shop you want to stay long term / your eventual full time gig, so in the meantime you can learn ways to handle it without burning yourself out
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