I interned this summer in investment banking and got completely crushed. My hours ranged between 85-105 each week, but were usually around 95ish. I started to get really burned out. Its been over a month and I am still very stressed from this past summer and considering going back. It was not uncommon to be in the office until 4-5am then back at 8:30am multiple days in a row and then back to the regular 8:30am to 1:30am schedule for just a few days before getting crushed again. I only had 3 days off the whole summer (one full weekend and forth of July).
Emotionally I started to being unhappy. I would look out a window and see people doing things with their life and wish I was them. I felt like I wasn't really living at all and would wonder what it felt like to feel the wind blowing against my face, because I had not been outside for so long. One period where I was completely sleep deprived, getting around 2 hours a night, I felt like there was tons of pressure in my chest and my vision started to get blurry, but I just tried to keep working anyways.
As much as my experience sounds brutal above, I actually really loved the work I was doing and the people I was working with. I felt like the learning was top notch and all the assignments were interesting. The lack of sleep and working out is what scares me.
I am considering going back to work there full-time, but I do not know if things will be different. I will have a little more control over my schedule and can possibly tell the staffer if I am getting overworked. I can easily do a 100 hour work week if there were a few days of lighter work in between the assignments to recover.
Has anyone experienced this type of burnout as an intern, but been able to handle it full-time? What are ways I can avoid burnout if I come back full time? Am I just stupid for even considering going back if I am not the type of person who can do 16-18 hour days for 2 years?