Bucking the Cultural Norm

Hey Monkeys - I'm the type of individual who can focus about 100x better with a pair of headphones in listening to my favorite classical pieces. At the bulge brackets, would I be singled out as "the intern who wears headphones" if I decided to plug in at my desk? Or is it more common than I'm thinking

14 Comments
 

I'm the same way. It really helps to keep you focused on what you are doing because you can't hear distractions. I just don't use classical music, I'm more of an electronic type of person because there are no words and it keeps me going.

make it hard to spot the general by working like a soldier
 

At my bank, analysts are allowed to listen to music with earphones/headphones, but most wait until the evening around dinner time and when the senior banks start to leave the office. Myself, personally, I am in the same boat as the OP (I have over 100 hours worth of classical music on iPod) but I don't bust out the headphones until the evening. During the daytime, I just do my best to tune out all the background noise.

 

I have actually been warned about listening to headphones during the day. In my performance review they scratched off a couple of dollars because of a "lack of focus," which basically translated into wearing headphones during the day. My general rule is that when the MD's AND VP's leave, I can plug them in and no one cares or complains. My headphone are actually quite nice but I've had them for 5 years now. If anyone can recommend a nice pair of noise-cancelling headphones please do so. (Sorry to go off on a tangent.)

 
Douglas_MacArthur

this industry is so fucking retarded.

That's an odd comment - it's not as though I-Banking is the only job in which it would be frowned upon to wear headphones during normal working hours.

Personally, it was fine in my office to wear headphones during the day but I would just take cues from FT analysts in your office - every firm is different

 

I pop em in if I'm cranking on a model or something. Also wear them at night when the office empties out.

"For I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Bloody Mary full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails. Pray for me now and at the hour of my death, which I hope is soon. Amen."
 

If I'm working on something but also want to be coherent of my Analyst's requests and visits, I just keep one ear free. Weird that anyone would care though, as it'd seem beneficial to me if an analyst was listening to an earnings call or something.

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for freedom of thought which they seldom use.
 

Probably group specific thing. i would see what the FTs are doing. At my group it was perfectly acceptable/I did it during the day as a summer. It was just a sign of cranking on something

 

Aut dignissimos odit sunt est. Nihil laudantium mollitia impedit beatae quod. Recusandae et repellendus rem nostrum reiciendis asperiores. Est saepe minus sit veritatis consequuntur. Qui autem alias nesciunt sit.

Sit et ex dolores modi. Praesentium distinctio dolor tenetur eos quo saepe similique beatae.

Voluptas in quis atque hic voluptate dolorem doloremque dolorem. Molestiae deleniti dolore eum eligendi earum et culpa expedita. Sint aperiam quae expedita culpa veritatis dignissimos doloremque. Dolore voluptatem enim et deleniti. Accusantium ratione dolor hic animi velit ut accusamus rerum.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.

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 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

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 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”