The First 90 Days: How to Survive the "Analyst Gauntlet" Without Burning Out

In Crack the Street, I describe the first year of banking as the most professionally brutal period of your life. It is an absolute grind. But it is also the foundation upon which your entire career—whether in Private Equity, Corporate Development, or as a Managing Director—is built.

The drop-out rate is real. The difference between the analyst who burns out in Month 4 and the one who gets the top-tier PE exit often comes down to how they navigate these first 90 days.

Here is the survival guide I wish I had when I started.

1. Adjust Your Equation (Happiness = Reality – Expectations)

The biggest source of misery for new analysts is a mismatch of expectations. You might think you'll be building complex LBO models and advising CEOs on Day 1.

2. The "15-Minute Shot Clock"

In banking, responsiveness is your currency. There is an unwritten rule that you operate on a "15-minute shot clock" for acknowledging emails.

3. Master the Art of "Turning Comments"

You will spend 50% of your waking hours "turning comments"—making edits to PowerPoint decks based on markups from Senior Bankers.

This sounds easy. It is not. If a Director asks for 10 changes and you only make 9, you have failed. It doesn't matter if the 9 were perfect; the 1 missed change signals a lack of attention to detail.

4. Your Classmates Are Not Your Competition

It is easy to feel like you are in a Hunger Games scenario with the other analysts in your bullpen. Resist this.

Your fellow analysts are your greatest allies. They are the only ones who understand the 2 AM struggle. They are the ones who will teach you the Excel shortcut you forgot, cover for you when you need to step out for a dentist appointment, and vent with you over lukewarm Seamless dinners.

Building a "tight ship" with your class makes the unbearable nights bearable. The lone wolf analyst rarely survives the winter.

5. The "Facetime" Reality

We can debate whether it's fair, but in banking, visibility equals effort. If a Managing Director walks by your desk at 9:00 AM and you aren't there, they notice. If they leave at 7:00 PM and you are gone, they notice.

In your first 90 days, aim to be at your desk by 8:00 AM. Be the first one in and the last one to leave (relative to your immediate deal team). You are earning your stripes. Once you have built a reputation for bulletproof reliability, you will gain more autonomy. But you have to earn it first.

The Bottom Line

The first 90 days aren't about brilliance; they are about reliability.

Senior bankers want to know that if they give you a task at 10 PM, it will be done correctly by 8 AM the next morning. Prove that, and you will find yourself on the best deal teams, getting the best bonuses, and setting yourself up for the best exits.

For the full playbook on surviving the Analyst years, including the exact Excel shortcuts and email templates to use, check out Part II of Crack the Street.