BB Associate hours
Currently associate at a well known EB. For various reason, I wanted to lateral to a BB (not interested by PE) and got lucky enough to get multiple offers from low tier BBs (Barclays/Citi/DB).
After speaking with various people, it looks like hours would be roughly 9am - 11pm Monday to Thursday, 9am - 10pm on Friday and a couple of hours on the weekend. Obviously way more when working on multiple exec.
Does it sound correct? Interested by NYC/LDN feedbacks on the matter.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, your understanding of BB Associate hours aligns closely with reported experiences. Here's a breakdown:
London:
New York City:
Key Notes:
Your estimate of 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM Monday to Thursday, 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM on Friday, and a few weekend hours is reasonable, though it may vary depending on the bank, group, and deal activity.
Sources: Actual BB IB Associate post-MBA hours, Investment Banking Hours - What to Expect?, Investment Banking Hours - What to Expect?, Realistic BB Working Hours, London IBD Associates: hours?
Bump
I started out at an EB as an ANL, got the A2A promotion, then lateraled to one of the BBs you mentioned as an associate (relocated for family reasons). I later moved to PE after about a year. Obviously, experiences will vary depending on group, deal flow, and team culture, but based on my time at one of those BBs, the hours you mentioned sound directionally accurate.
In my experience, a large part of the associate role at the mid-ranked BB was spent reviewing analysts’ work, giving feedback, or just being on standby for seniors—rather than cranking out deliverables myself, which was more common for associates at my former EB. One thing I appreciated about the BB life was the relatively well-enforced protected weekend policy. At my bank, weekend work requests had to be approved by the COO or group head, and most of those requests were actually denied—so weekends were generally respected unless something truly urgent came up.
That was a stark contrast to my EB experience, where associates and analysts only got 1 protected weekend every 2 months—and even then, we often still had to work, since there wasn’t a formal sign-off process like at the BB. Sounds too good? Maybe—but keep in mind that associate bonuses at mid-tier BBs are typically around 40-50% or less of what you'd get at an EB, so it’s definitely a tradeoff.
Super interesting, thank you for taking the time to reply.
Out of curiosity, what pushed you to go from EB to BB to jump quickly after in PE? Also, did you have flexibility at the time to go home at 8pm for example and log back at home until late at night if necessary?
Headhunters reached out with PE opportunities that were in my area of interest.
There’s no general rule or trend I can point to — it really depends on the group and the senior deal team members. Some teams don’t mind if their juniors head out early, while some groups expect juniors to stay in the office until 11pm-midnight every day. Best to talk to the juniors on the team to get an accurate picture before you join.
Did you not execute at all?
Do you mind sharing what city you're in? I've heard NYC is just more intense typically, but it really, really depends on the group you're in, etc.
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