What are the chances of taking a vacation in december.....

i didn't take vacation for the first year, and this was on a trading desk..i know of ppl how've done it though. first year here took 2 weeks in jan, that's on a sales desk.

7 is doable. 10.... well, if you spin it as family/personal time

you might be able to pull off christmas to new years

i'd think xmas to new years would be hard as everyone else wants that slot...i usually like to work that week myself....

a lot also depends on what you're staffed on, etc. but i don't know anyone who has pulled off a week in december which wasn't christmas to new years.

on a banking desk you mean? i've done a week in dec each of the last three years and it's not been xmas week. don't think it's gonna happen this yr

It is my understanding that not a lot of deals are done during christmas time, and most people (including analysts) take a week vacation around then.

No way, man. Taking a week in December your first year is doable, but 10 days is unlikely and definitely not over Christmas or New Years. Senior people take vacation then not junior people. So unless there is a death in the family or you're getting married it will be hard to pull off.

yeah regional banking, so different story.

Come on, fess up, how much "gaming" of the system goes on? I know people who have had their grandpa die 4 times during school, does this shit happen in I-banking?

I had trading friends who worked all busines days. I also had friends who were able to take 2-4 days (4 days = that week) because some desks took shifts during the slow year end.

I had M&A analyst who hard to work every business day Christmas New Year's off... and others were able to take 1-4 days off as well. (the 4 days is rare but the 1-2 was fairly common).

So it all depends on your group, the business, and your boss.

I was lucky.

Good luck.

If you're from San Fransisco, it's perfectly plausible to have four grandpas.

Hahaha, good one!

They won't fire you, but they may not let you go. Since you're at a middle market bank, the size of your group may limit the chances.

I line up two weeks for our analyst pool and try to let them pick either the week near Christmas or the week near New Year for a free week off. Analysts on duty cover for analysts away that week. Ten days would be pushing it for a first year, but I've been known to make exceptions.

However, if one of your deals is hot, all bets are off and you're out of luck. It sucks, but that's the job.