Why do people in finance complain about the long hours?
Why do people in finance complain about the long hours? Like in Investment Banking, don't they get paid for the overtime? Working more = more money, right?
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Work the hours for one week and see if you still have the same outlook
No. No one gets paid overtime. Overtime is a concept that applies to people who are paid by the hour, not salaried employees.
But I'll second Gronk - go work the hours.. not for a week though.. but for a few months.
I encourage you to do a little exercise. Wake up tomorrow around 8am. At 9am start actively keeping track of what you are doing - did you go to class? did you see friends? did you sit somewhere for lunch? had dinner? saw family?. At 12am (i.e. a standard 15h day) recall all that you did during your day and imagine that for that whole f*king time, you'd be sitting at a desk staring at your computer. Now imagine doing that every day. Add to that standard work during weekends (put another 8h there). Would you complain?
People only think about the money so much because they don't know how valuable their time and health are.
It's true but everyone knows the hours blow going into it. There's no need to complain. Feeling sorry for yourself accomplishes nothing. Either suck it up or find a different career.
This. The issue isn't that the hours suck or try it out and see how you like it...its people who complain about the hours despite everyone knowing that working long hours, repeatedly at times is part of the job.
There is a line out the door and around the block of people who are willing to do whatever it takes to "break in" so for those of us who are trying to get in but hear of junior bankers complaining about the hours is frankly annoying.
While I used to think in a similar fashion, that reasoning only goes so far because there is a big difference in being told what you'll face ve actually doing it for a spring (internships) vs doing it for a marathon (full-time).
It's not always just the "long hours" in terms of the number of hours worked, but also:
1) Variability - You never how many hours you will work that week (or even that day). Work gets handed down in a very unpredictable way. Thus not only do you find yourself re-arranging and/or cancelling plans at the last minute; often you don't even get a chance to rest and recover before the next big thing hits.
2) Efficiency - If you are stuck with poor managers (there's plenty of these), you often find yourself in situations where your time isn't being utilized well. You may sit around all day with lot of down-time only only to have the work hit late in the day right as you were getting ready to walk out the door. You can't help but question why the work wasn't handed to you earlier.
3) Over-Doing Things - There's times when you spend your entire weekend working on a deck that's already done, but because it isn't due until Monday and that's 48 hours away, your manager(s) decide to keep adding and changing things that aren't really value-add or necessary.
No overtime although bonus is effectively overtime payment for analysts / associates.
Saying these numbers like 80-100 hours a week doesn't mean anything until you've actually lived it. Actually experienced doing literally nothing other than sleeping (not much), commuting and being in the office.
As others have said, the ridiculous variability between downtime and absurd deadlines, plus the sudden cancellation of plans is what the real killer is.
Go spend 1 month sitting in a library for 16 hours a day plus 15 hours over the weekend. Make plans with friends but before each one roll a dice and if it's above 3 you have to cancel. Have a friend randomly call you at some point every day and tell you to do some task in a certain amount of time or you have to pay him $100.
Also being paid well isn't that useful if you have no time to spend it. You end up with a large bank balance but no experiences.
why did you say roll a dice instead of flip a coin?
Not sure if you've ever talked to a human, but pretty much everyone complains about their work. As others have said its a coping mechanism to help get you through. It's also an easy way to find common ground with others.
While yes, you do get paid for your willingness to be available 24/7, there are many other things that factor into happiness than having a lot of money. While this job certainly gives you the financial freedom to do a lot of cool things, you rarely have the time to do them or ability to plan for events in advance. Want to visit that college friend of yours that lives in Austin or go to that music festival you couldn't afford when you were in college? Get ready to cancel at the last minute and be out some money. By the time you are able to have more control over your schedule (whether that be at a bank or in one of the many exit opps available), your getting to the age where you may be getting married and starting to settle down. At this point, its going to be a lot harder to sneak away for a blowout weekend in Vegas when you have other real responsibilities in your life.
Whether its because they want an analyst position themselves, or simply see how much money people in finance make, outsiders are always annoyed when they here people complain about their IB hours. But until you experience it, or something similar, it's difficult to contextualize how bad it can be at times.
Dude everyone complains about their job. It's different from having to study late at night during school or whatever because things are not on your schedule. It's the unpredictability, not the hours, that's the worst.
Good point. I've worked 60-70 hour weeks before so I vaguely know of how bad the work can be. My only question on this thread would be why people don't jump the IB ship after they did a SA and had a presumably bad time? I mean considering most people at the BBs are from target schools, it would be fairly easy for people to get a decent f500 gig if they already have ivy + GS/MS/etc. on their resume?
Because working at a F500 doesn't:
1) Pay as much 2) Have the same "prestige" 3) Open as many future opportunities
Have you ever complained about studying (despite choosing to be in school, it being subsidized, your schedule being your own, and the hours being MUCH less than those in IB)? Have you ever bitched about traffic, despite living in a city you choose to live in and there being alternative places with less traffic? Have you ever bitched about how long your drink took to come from the bar, despite having the option to drink at home with no delays?
If you expect people to not complain about the results of their own choices, humanity is always going to disappoint you.
Its more or less the root of the long hours, that being for face time. When you have to be at work for reasons outside of being productive, time crawls.
As far as hourly vs. salaried+bonus goes, having done both, hourly overtime (at my own discretion) was easier to handle generated less discomfort because of the degree of control and the nearby nature of the reward in the form of that bi-weekly paycheck. Working banking hours now, I get outside of my comfort zone when random and seemingly arbitrary deadlines are imposed and the reward is much more deferred. I very much try to refrain from bitching to my friends about the hours as my situation is 100% my own decision but sometimes its all just a part of the shared experience of being young and paying your dues.
I think, some people just want to show their attitude towards work, some want "to show up", others just like to complain.
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