Prospective monkey question:
Can anyone paint a MD portrait for me? Is the top of the food chain, for the most part, a group of happy and satisfied professionals or do they come off as 24hr terminators?
In other words, does making it to the top actually have its benefits (other than the money), or do MDs typically hate their lives like analysts do?
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dude s&t mds get in at like 7:30AM and leave at 4:01PM, while making 7 figures. would you be happy?
I think the MD ranks are skewed by people who either love their jobs too much, or don't hate it enough to quit. While I do't ahve specific evidence, keep that skewing factor in mind.
most people in finance aren't. however, there are some people who don't take things personally and can do very well in the environment. You have to have a love of money and power. But the downside is, things happen in the market that you have no control over. I dated this md who seemed so happy from the outside - great looks, job, interests, apartment, etc - but on the inside he was the most miserable person I'd ever met. He cried on the phone to me once or twice. I said bye bye.
Even as an MD you are the client's lapdog. that's one of the problems being on the sell side.
all MDs clearly work hard and bring in the business, and rightfully get paid very well. I have utmost respect for those in the banking business. We ask the question -- are MDs happy. Happiness, in many ways in this business, is predicated upon material needs and the ability to achieve those material needs. Bankers get paid well. It is the form of payment that sometimes gets lost is the shuffle. It can be argued that MDs are paid in both cash and stock options, with the later being the renumeration of choice this particular season. The inherent problem lies in the translation between achievement of happiness thru the acquisition of material needs, and the immediate ability to do so. Bankers at the highest level, unfortunately, get paid in options. Even more unfortunate is the idea that options cannot be exchanged immediately for the aforementioned material needs that contribute to happiness. The lockup sucks, and it's never-ending. Poop. Clearly, there are other career paths that are just as intensive, lucrative, and rewarding. I think the brilliant guy from Centaurus said it best: “You ask a big CEO what he makes, and it’s a huge number, but it’s all tied up in stock and options. Traders get paid in cash. It’s liquid. It’s real. You can go, ‘Here, look,’ and slap someone across the face with it.”
MDs are largely happy because of what they are able to provide for themselves and their family. To the extent that this "ability" is very liquid in the form of readily accessible cash, the more the better. The guy who can "slap someone across the face with it" -- that's the guy who is happiest.
even if you got paid all cash you'd most likely save a considerable amount of it. all stock options have some sort of vesting schedule that allows some to vest immediately and the rest can be saved as, "savings". even getting paid in options you can still make lots and lots and lots of money and spend most of it immediately.
"The guy who can "slap someone across the face with it" -- that's the guy who is happiest."
if money is what drives you, that is.
And if you enjoy putting down others who earn less...
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