What Is Everyone's Exams situations like?

Guys I will admit this could be under the category of complaining, but I was wondering how common this is to everyone else. I currently am a first year associate I started in Jan 24. Currently doing about 55 - 75 hours a week depending on timing ect. I am currently in the process of getting my license, the SIE, 7TO, 63, 86 and 87. 

My company does not give associates time to study for exams so it is expected you do it after work. So in addition to a 11-15 hour day I have to tack on another 2 hours for studying. I was wondering if this is common at other firms? 

10 Comments
 

How do you have so much work without being licensed? I feel your situation makes sense if you’re the sole associate under an analyst. I’m also new so don’t know what it’s like at other places. I work less hours with most of the time spent on studying for exams during work hours. Earnings season is coming up so I expect to spend a lot less time studying until that’s over

 

Don't know why everyone is dunking on the new guy. Both of the European banks I've worked at explicitly give time to new joiners to study. Maybe it's not true everywhere, but it's not an unreasonable thing to want.

New guy, the other posters are right that you do just have to suck it up and burn the midnight oil, but keep in mind that it'll be over soon and you're doing it in service of a career that might give you $5-10M in lifetime earnings if you make it work.

 

Officia repellat expedita nesciunt odit et repudiandae neque. Sint voluptas quia ducimus et. Laboriosam reiciendis eum neque. Voluptatem ducimus itaque illum et pariatur est. Odit tempore officia cum incidunt voluptas et. Sit excepturi a expedita similique.

Officia consequatur eius aut et. Quia tenetur et inventore amet totam earum.

Qui aliquam hic hic quod odio adipisci asperiores. Accusantium ipsa dolores rerum sint deleniti nihil earum. Est fugit sed et corrupti ratione velit debitis nihil. Molestiae praesentium veniam et quia. Laudantium eius provident autem et nobis incidunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”