From reading many posts on this sub and from speaking with friends that have graduated, it is clear that climbing this career ladder can absorb you, damage your relationships with family and friends, and potentially leave you trapped in a golden prison (high pay with high expenses) in a line of work that ceases to be fulfilling.
I don't eat sleep and breath the markets. I'm not in this for the love of the game, but I'm willing to assume that role/attitude to secure the bag and provide.
My concern is that once this begins it does not end. Stopping after analyst/associate stint almost defeats the purpose of starting and fails to achieve the original goal. The problem is that there's so much of life that I feel like I have not experienced, so much that I do not know. This line of work opens many doors but conversely closes many as well. I set goals for myself years before I even knew what IB was, that I fear I will no longer be able to achieve. While I understand this is the trade off you make, I don't want to wake up at 45 and ask myself wtf was it all for, wishing I had seen those goals through.
Do you have similar regrets or concerns? How do you deal with them? Is it worth it for you? How do you justify it for yourself if you feel similarly?Any input is appreciated.
Your post is kinda long and has a few questions but I think your question is, is banking worth it long term? And I know many people on this forum will probably disagree with me but for most people the answer is no. Your best option is to work hard at the beginning and switch. Very, very few bankers have a good life in the end when you take into consideration their financial, emotional, social, physical/mental health.
In your 20s/30s banking is a solid job with good comps + very good exit ops. You’ll have to work hard, spend most of your waking hours in the office but the downsides many complain about aren’t real downsides when you’re just starting your career and are young enough to deal with these changes without too many sacrifices on your part. Ik everyone on here talks about comps not being what they used to but if you stay in banking a few years you’re almost guaranteed a wealthy household income which relieves some of life’s major stressors.
But then comes all the other issues with banking. First and the one that gets most people is family. Choosing your spouse is probably the most significant decision you can make and even those marriages that you think will survive the long haul … just don’t in banking. Now I guess more aren’t interested in getting married but if you want kids the same problems remain. Most bankers have terrible personal relationships partially contributed to the people they work with everyday and the rest is on them. Don’t buy into the family time is important for us PR marketing BS thrown out by the firms. Very few and usually traditional marriages, where the wife is a stay home and husband is a banker survive. But now those don’t last long either due to infidelity, lack of core values, etc. things are getting worse and would suggest you carefully choose a wife that’s religious or has the same values as you if you’re a guy. Divorce situation isn’t always messy and no you probably won’t lose a lot of your $$ to her as is sensationalized but kids almost always go with their mom - a huge negative because no amount of $$ can repair that + you wouldn’t have had much time to spend with them. If you can live with this, that’s on you but most guys out of a divorce (usually MDs) can’t.
Golden handcuffs situation is really YMMV but happens more when you’re young and unencumbered. There’ll always be few guys who’ll use this in their divorces to make their ex’s life hard but it’s few and far between. In my experience, what I see more of are bankers who get addicted to making $$ and once the other areas of their life began to fail which is almost always the case in their late 40s/50s, it’s like that’s all there is in their life becoming a negative feedback loop.
Last area is health, this is both personal and circumstantial, so can’t say much except that most of your worries from starting in banking are just that worries. You shouldn’t worry too much as you should be fine in your 20s/30s. After that, good habits and discipline should save you but everyone gets something as they age, no need to be doom and gloom about it. I’m at the VP level now and from talking with MDs I can see very few where it was worth it long term as the chance something significant doesn’t derail you is almost 0.
Appreciate the input. Have heard this from many ex bankers.
Gonna edit this down some as well🤝
Do you work at BB?
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