How much slack do you have in your day?
I understand that Equity Research work, while slightly less hours on average than similar FO positions, tends to be pretty dense.
I understand that team cultures can vary, so from your experience, how feasible is it to work from 8 AM - 7 PM, taking 1.5 hours off at noon, and 1.5 hours off at 4:30 PM (during non-earnings/initiation times)?
I’m guessing it would be doable though unrealistic in some teams.
Im looking to fit a potential ER career into my preferred lifestyle. I value this path, so would have the ability to make adjustments, but rest wondering the feasibility of this possible structure from a career standpoint.
Thanks!
Any general thoughts re: culture, slack in the day, hours, anecdotes are also very welcome.
Taking 1.5 hours off at noon lol, when most of the industry eat lunch at their desk.
You don't get to decide the lifestyle: Your MD decides it. If you need to take time off on a one-off basis, no problem at all. Consistently? Highly doubt any sensible team will let you do that.
While less intense than investment banking, your late afternoon is one breaking news away from needing to get back into the office to hammer out an accretion / dilution analysis and write a note.
Thanks for this response - I had a lingering feeling that I needed a bit of a reality check. Interested in additional perspectives as well.
What would you say is generally the best time of the day to take some time off? Once the market closes?
My next preferred option I believe would be to take a 2 hour block at any time of day that allows (ideally sometime between 11 AM and 7 PM), but again this can be flexible. I don't need to worry about lunch or anything else like that, everything is included. I can direct pretty much the remainder of the time (~9 hours) to direct work.
Or from your experience, are associates generally glued to the desk for the ~10-11+ hours in a day. (which is digestible if so)
Yes, best time to take time off generally is after market hour and on Friday's. Best time to take vacation is for sure NOT during earnings season or conference season, and obviously not during when your analyst hosts her annual client conference.
2 hour block is too long of a time to take any day of the week. Folks go to the kitchen or office cafeteria to grab a coffee for 15-20 min in slow times (or when their MD is away), but not for 2 hours.
If you have this requirement to work in the profession, I advise you make it clear during interview and the reason needs to be valid (eg. valid if for religious reason, caring for family member reason. Not valid if you have to put in 2 hours of gym time per day, etc.). Otherwise, you will be perceived very poorly once you start the job.
If you're asking if you can get away with working 40 hrs/week in research the answer is no lmao
Why couldn't you answer this before I did?! (would've saved me time)
Your nuaned response was valuable
Lol, did the math and had a moment of reckoning. Thanks for the perspective
Meh, after being on the sell-side for a while, it really isn't so hard to fit 1-1.5hrs away from the desk during off-peak times. It'll be difficult to do it at a set time though, but you typically have an idea - just make sure you check your phone and can actually get back online if needed within 5-10min. That said, the above is only doable if you have a semi-hybrid work environment, which is relatively common in ER. It's basically impossible to do this if you're working in the office, unless your analyst is away - in which case, you likely don't have to be in the office anyways.
Honestly, most of the 'slacking' you refer to is in the optics. People really like to exaggerate their hours in banking, whether in-person or online. Nobody is really 'working-working' for 10+hrs non-stop everyday, and news that require a flash note / related financial analysis isn't going to drop everyday (I guess depends on sector, but realistically not to the extent that it's a constant). Even in the office, I see a lot of teams at the desk for super long hours, but when I look over they're not doing anything productive (e.g., checking their phones, scrolling through social media, staring at Blue Matrix lol).
For reference, I work at a BB in a hot sector, and we're frequently seen as the sweatiest team in the entire department. Our output per associate is ridiculous - and on bad weeks, I've definitely gone 16+ hours / day without a break. The hours ebbs and flows.
As long as you're efficient with your time, and your output isn't affected, you can take time away if you don't blatantly look like you've checked out (e.g. go offline for hours and not answer your emails). I've definitely gone out to do my own chores or just take a walk around the neighborhood in the afternoon when I know it's a quiet day. Just my 2c.
Totally agree with all this, but what you're talking about is far from OP's question about disappearing for 3h every day and working 45h/week
I'm sure we're all commenting with intentions to help - but at first glance, seems to me like OP was asking about taking time off during non-busy time slots (non-earnings, non-conference).
To be fair, there aren't that many quiet months in the year, so if OP is bent on only working 45hrs and can find a spot like that - generally, the analyst is either 1) preparing to retire / jump ship, or 2) covering a dead sector, neither of which is optimal for their career development.
Hey, thanks so much for all of your insight.
I think I can adjust it to max 1 hour away from the desk, and 1 hour passively working (eating).
Hopefully my analyst values health highly and is cool with a 1 hr gym slot during the day, but of course it seems like output is king, and it seems like a) I'll use discretion over that and b) sometimes it may not be possible/it will have to wait until after work.
And, yeah, I don't mean slacking off, but general slack meaning how tightly packed an 8-7 day is. I'm putting it on a pedestal because I've wanted to get in for a while, but it seems like in a slow-ish period, people are human, too, and you can balance life and extremely optimal output.
There totally is slack, and if your analyst believes you will work hard for them and do good quality work, they will not be neurotic about you disappearing sometimes (and you will learn which days and times you can safely disappear). But you proving yourself first and then being flexible with when you slip away is a key part of that - there is no 'protected lunch hour'
That's helpful, thanks. I'm really interested in this field and by natural extension, look forward to putting in my best foot. Still, however, health comes first to me, which is why I'm so insistent about protecting this hour (with some flexibility over when it is/ how I implement it). It's going to be a balancing act, but one that is worthwhile, and seems doable, (if not inevitable).
Hey no problem, I think it’s good to set boundaries with what you’re looking for, but I’d be sensitive about the approach you take when you interview. The last thing an analyst wants to hear (even if they’re really chill), is a potential associate asking them about wlb at the beginning of the process.
Not to be overly preachy, but focusing on mental / physical health isn’t something seen as a positive in this industry - obviously you should do it for yourself, but I wouldn’t go about advertising your 1hr of gym time per day, etc, especially early on. Fwiw, I’m probably more empathetic to this topic already vs. the industry average bc I spent some time practicing medicine vs. straight finance.
Assuming you are a very competitive candidate otherwise with some kind of edge over other applicants, a few things I’d watch for when selecting an analyst with wlb in mind:
1) Associate turnover rate (check their research reports - should have access from school resources)
2) Recently promoted analysts tend to be worse managers / overwork their team to establish themselves
3) Talk to the associates and be skilled with the ask if they are still with the analyst (e.g. what does the team do for fun? If the answer is an awkward silence, that’s probably your answer).
4) Any posting that says ‘comfort working 10+hr days’ = you’re working 12hr days constantly, min.
Hope this helps, feel free to dm.
his answer was exactly the type of input I was searching for..
while a binary yes/no answer is helpful, wouldn't you say that this additional color provides actionable insight for a newbie looking to potentially dive in?
Starting this job at 8am? … no way. You need to be awake and ready to read news and reports by 6:30am everyday, unless your company never put out press release at this time. Now, you don’t need to be in the office until much later. But generally morning between 7-7:30 is spent chatting/talking with traders/sales on any important news or reports published from that morning or the night before. This help them to put out summary emails that get blast out to clients and help them sell your research. Typical day ends around 7pm ish (except Friday which can end as early as 5) and that is largely function of your team culture. You can likely eat or take an 30min-an hour break here and there without issues but you better be checking your phones for news/boss/colleague/ client requests, etc. every 5-10min and respond accordingly.
meh, maybe that's team by team. I've started at 8 every day for five years except earnings morning I knew were coming in advance...
What kind of firm and is your analyst ranked?
Before covid I showed up at the office around 7:30 and left around 6. How productive I was depended on how much needed to get done - some days I worked the whole time, others I did essentially nothing. During wfh peak covid there wasn't a ton to do and I probably averaged 2 hours a day of actual work from March-August 2020.
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