Pros and Cons

Tomorrow all the higher-ups find out their bonuses at our firm, which is a good thing because troubling analysts will be the last thing on their minds. Bets are being taken on who will leave in the next two weeks. I'm also supposed to decide on whether or not I want to remain a third year in the next week, but, hopefully, people will be too distracted by bonus numbers to bother me about it until the next month or so.

But anyway, as part of the decision-making process, it's time for a pro/con list.

Pros:
1.) $$$$$
2.) $$$$
3.) $$$
4.) $$
5.) $
6.) Postpones big "what the fuck do I want to do with my life question" for yet another year
7.) Will keep me occupied, and thus give me little time to mope or to think about weighty, philosophical questions such as "what the fuck do I want to do with my life" or "should I have soup or wrap for lunch"

Cons:
1.) Becoming more materialistic by:
- Actually wanting to shop at Brooks Brothers
- Thinking that an associate "only" getting a $100k bonus is "underpaid"
- Thinking that its a good idea that all these graduates from good colleges spend their time figuring out how to maximize goodwill, or in layman's terms, make rich people even richer
- Thinking that people who "only" work 40 hours a week are "lazy"
2.) As one of my friends put its, viewing free time as something you win in a lottery, rather than as something that's yours
3.) The eventual realization that instead of having the courage to tackle weighty philosophical questions such as "what the fuck do I want to do with my life" or "should I have soup or wrap for lunch," I've chickened out and just went for the money

So I have to make a decision somewhat quickly. Or I can do what my friend Joe suggested to one of my banker friends: "Maybe you should pretend that you are considering staying for a third year, but make it known that it will depend on the size of your bonus. Once you get the big bonus, then you can quit. Don't worry about burning bridges because in the small chance that you might want to come back to JP in the future, all the people in your current group will probably already be gone." Sound advice.

Hours spent at work: Too many
Going to: Whitecastle