Executive Summary
Scott Galloway—once an analyst at Morgan Stanley—openly expresses his intense aversion toward investment banking, calling it hateful but simultaneously acknowledging it as one of life’s most formative and valuable training grounds. He outlines how those early years instilled crucial discipline and skills, while also leading him to understand his own limitations and steer into entrepreneurship and academia.
Analysis
Scott Galloway’s reflections on his stint in investment banking reveal an instructive tension between the grind of Wall Street and the crucible of character formation. Though he “literally” hated every part of his job—everyone, everything, the environment, the food, the culture—this period served as essential early-career training [4]. His experience at Morgan Stanley—from 9 a.m. meetings, late nights proofing prospectuses with zero margin for error, to being deeply insecure about his place in this environment—forced rapid internal reckoning [4][6].
Despite his self-professed lack of fit, Galloway emphasizes that working in investment banking helped him develop key skills: attention to detail, resilience, understanding the machinations of large organizations, and learning what he wasn’t good at. As he puts it, discovering one is “not cut out for the corporate world” is not purely negative—it’s a signpost directing toward entrepreneurial avenues [5][4].
Strategically, these lessons shift how we view both early-career roles in finance and the value of suffering professionally. For talent recruiters and firms, this underscores the importance of acknowledging not just the salary or prestige but the intense psychological and lifestyle demands and how these shape—or misalign with—personality and long-term trajectory. For individuals evaluating career paths, Galloway’s story suggests one must measure opportunity cost not only in dollars but in whether the environment allows one’s strengths to surface. For investors and leadership, stories like Galloway’s matter because they shape career expectation-setting and influence how firms retain or lose talent.
Open questions remain: how many current young analysts endure similar mismatch between role and temperament, whether banks are doing enough to support mental health, and whether society overvalues prestige at the cost of alignment. Also: if the early hardships of finance build character, is the cost—burnout, long hours, mental strain—worth it? And does the prestige-reward cycle continue to draw people unprepared, repeating Galloway’s journey?
Supporting Evidence
- Galloway said: “I f***ing hated my job at Morgan Stanley. I hated the people I worked with. I hated the office. I hated the food. I hated the environment. I hated investment banking. I hated the markets. I hated everything about it.” [4]
- He described workweeks that left him “miserable” before catching glimpses of relief only when they neared their end; Sundays were especially taxing knowing the week ahead. [4]
- Despite his hatred, Galloway credits Morgan Stanley with teaching him attention to detail—e.g., proofing prospectuses forwards and backwards—and endurance in high-pressure environments. [6]
- He admitted to feeling “too insecure” for a large corporate environment, especially when peers were promoted whom he did not believe were smarter than him. He concluded he was simply not cut out for such structures. [5]
- Galloway views investment banking as a satisfying platform early in one’s career: a crucible where those who hate it but stay through learn critical skills and gain credibility. But he cautions that unless one is fascinated by markets, pursuing it long-term can be a mistake. [9]
- He defines his post-banking path—towards entrepreneurship, teaching, media—largely in reaction to recognizing that his personality and skills were better suited to building something rather than navigating the hierarchies of big banking. [5]
Sources
- [1] podscripts.co (PodScripts) — Recent
- [2] www.linkedin.com (LinkedIn) — Recent
- [3] www.cnbc.com (CNBC) — 2019-01-17
- [4] lilys.ai (Lilys.ai) — Recent
- [5] www.thestreet.com (TheStreet) — 2025-06-04
- [6] cafe.com (CAFE) — Recent