Am I behind? 31 Year Old Analyst

Turning 31 this year, currently an Analyst 2 at BB (GS/MS/JPM) doing capital markets despite having 3-4 years of industry experience. Am I behind?

I come from a country in Asia where I had to serve military for 2 years, coupled with the fact that I was also behind in school for another 2 years as I did not like studying growing up.

Against all odds, I managed to break into S&T at a BB but got let go after 1 year after the bank went through restructuring and then spent 2 years in a buyside firm before deciding to go back to sellside. Thoughts?

13 Comments
 
Most Helpful

behind as an Analyst, sure. As a general 31 year old, I think you are still doing better than 90% of men your age. All perspective

 

No. Wall Street is younger than the rest of the industry. Coming from the middle market in the south I was shocked at my first networking reception.

The BB commercial banks are also younger than middle market. Age isnt relevant. Just dont stagnate. Even if it means jumping ship or going back to school. Growth can be hard in the analyst role because commercial banking isn’t as draining as IB. Less of an up or out culture. It isn’t out of the ordinary to be an analyst into your mid 30s if you had to claw your way up.

 

We might have very similar backgrounds. Singaporean here, did 2y of army, did polytechnic (so 1y behind), did NUS for 1 year, before redoing my undergrad in the UK (so 3y, total of 4y spent at undergrad level).

31 this year and at assoc 2. Had to pause my career for 1 year to handle family health issues so I consider myself rather behind. If you are in London you would see tons of European being rather behind as well, as they do 7 years of undergraduate and masters before starting their first job. They typically have respect for older candidates as they have been through the same shit as well.

All in all, focus on yourself, and it is YOUR marathon to run, regardless of who else is running too

 

It’s all relative, I wouldn’t sweat age. I’m 27 and would take an analyst 1 role in a heartbeat. Would still earn more than most my age.
Something I noticed is if I close my eyes to comparison and ignore the linear path, I get to just focus on MY story, and enjoy the satisfaction of all my accomplishments thus far.

 

Et recusandae omnis sint sed vel suscipit. Voluptates et corrupti assumenda ut optio est. Accusamus laudantium corrupti quia perferendis. Sit sit velit earum quaerat. Qui et numquam omnis ipsum quos qui.

Voluptatibus unde velit libero repellendus et molestiae doloribus. Eveniet modi ut est reiciendis. Quam non aspernatur hic asperiores omnis. Ut sapiente debitis ex necessitatibus. Tempora repellat et dolorem.

Excepturi voluptas ut sequi. Nihil voluptas rerum iure reiciendis.

Labore quisquam sed fugiat est quia assumenda minus. Id omnis quisquam delectus eveniet necessitatibus nemo quas suscipit. Sint placeat vero molestias ipsa cum nisi cumque.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”