I’m starting FT soon and I am worried because I felt as if I completely forgot my faith during my SA simply due to being busier and more anxious than I had ever been. I am not allowing that to happen again, and want to know if there is anyone here who has felt similarly and has advice/experience staying the course during banking.
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Christian banker here. It’s tough man, but oh so important as this job will drive you to your darkest moments if you let it (being overly concerned about money with bonus politics), covering your neighbor (watching your peers to make sure you outperform or are supposedly getting the same transaction opportunities), working without proper rest (Sunday is a full Monday for top groups), gluttony (being sedentary and relying on delivered food 24/7 which makes it easy to choose poorly). Here are a couple adjustments I made to keep me faithful first:
Little known fact but Saturday night mass counts as a Sunday. Hence why just about every Catholic church has a 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. Saturday mass. The sabbath was traditionally sun down to sun down. So "Sunday" in the religious sense starts sun down on Saturday and ends sun down on Sunday. Hence your Saturday might actually be Sunday anyway.
I've always found 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. mass to be pretty easy as well. While Sunday is a working day in IB, I remember everyone rolling in between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. so that gives you plenty of time.
Lastly, people can be pretty cool if they understand that you're serious. I remember mentioning going to mass to my team in casual conversation and later that week my VP pulled me aside and told me that I can go whenever and I don't even need to ask. He wasn't a very religious guy either.
when it comes to how the job itself forces us to sin as you mentioned, this worries me. Christ says to cut off the hand that makes us sin. Are we wrong for even doing finance at all? I can't help but wrestle with these questions before starting
I'm no preacher or in any place to tell you what should and should not feel right in regards to sin. I think many things and experiences in life compel us to sin because we are human beings who are innately drawn to sinning no matter what we do. I think it's a better demonstration of faith to resist the temptation to sin when we see it outright. Do I think being a banker and working long hours to make a comfortable wage is innately sinful? I do not - the Bible says we should work and contribute to society and provide for our kin, etc. The Bible is also clear about resisting the temptation to be greedy (destroying your body to sleep even less or eat even worse for a measly $5k difference in bonus pay is a destruction of your temple and for negligible gain. You don't miss that 5k and your ego is driving your desire to be "top bucket"). The Bible is clear about resisting idolatry (Making you're whole existence in this world about maximum financial accumulation is misguided - we all want to be compensated well for our work but you should not innately be driven only by compensation). The Bible is clear about being a blessing to others when you have an opportunity to (a good chunk of money should be given away with no strings to charity or good causes or tithes - the more you bless others the better for you in the long run, also this removes the idolizing of hoarding money).
It's really a personal decision you have to contend with, but I do believe it's possible to be a banker and still serve our God. Others may feel differently which is completely fine as we are all on our own paths and have our individual relationships with our faith.
Good advice. One thing I like to keep in mind and recommend doing as well: give money consistently. I like to maintain recurring, monthly donations so that I'm constantly reminded at work that all my hard work is honoring God and benefitting others. It's easy to get bogged down in IB/PE and lose sight of the only thing that's important. Giving is a great way to remind yourself of your purpose while honoring God through work (and working hard). We (IB/PE) have been placed in unique career positions and have unique opportunities to bless others.
I am pretty vocal to my teams that I am unavailable on Sundays between 9:30-11 while I am at church. It’s a religious freedom. If the jews can take shabbat then you can go to church.
This.
State your case and stand your ground that a sliver of a segment of time will be dedicated to worship and you'll be unavailable, but if you're really anxious doing this, just caveat and say if it's absolutely urgent, you can answer your emails throughout worship (which I would personally not recommend).
If you're responsive and deliver quality work, most firms will not (or rather should not) hold this against you as I'm sure there are others at the junior or senior level that can relate and if not, at least realize that this small amount of downtime is crucial for your longevity within not only a professional setting within the team / firm, but also throughout life.
You will be baptised again, this time with Excel.
God is your MD
Devout Catholic monkey here—Rosary on the train, sets the tone for the entire day. NYC is amazing in that there are ~300 Catholic churches, all accessible via subway in ~30min or less (catering to Catholics here, but you get the idea). I’m blessed that I can usually walk mass near my office and be in and out in less than 45min. I can usually do this at least 2-days a week, sometimes 5 depending on flow. Make it a priority and it will become a priority. People caught on to my attending of mass and- oddly- respect it? Point is, no one will make it a big deal at all unless it hinders your work, which if you’re loyal to your faith in the face of monumental societal pressures, it’s hard to think you won’t be loyal to your work, but I digress…
Have to say, surprised by some of you "coming out", so to speak. No judgment, just surprise.
OP, it's important to set boundaries. The easiest path is to deliver, be a team player and be well regarded in the team, so your requests carry weight and the time is respected. It is not offside at all to ask to carve out time for worship but keep in mind you'll have to have some flexibility here depending on urgency of tasks, deadlines etc. Have seen Muslim colleagues thread the needle here re: Friday prayer and have never heard that the firm is unsupportive.
Not trying to be the devil's advocate here (literally..), but I actually do think your faith can take a hit in high finance. There are lots of great Christians in every profession, but I don't think it's likely that by surrounding yourself with the money-hungry, soulless, multiple-times-divorced, somewhat-to-blatantly dishonest people who constitute the higher ranks of the profession, that you'll somehow leave your experience MORE full of Christlike charity.
For every 10 younglings going to Wall Street full of faith, there are 9 who become jaded, bitter, self-absorbed, and sad. I can't help but think that many of us -- especially myself -- want to see ourselves as charitable do-gooders who went to finance to "pick up skills and influence to help lift the poor", but it's dang hard not to let the focus drift to bagging a comfy salary at a giant bank to afford to live like rich people live. We're not exactly building water wells in Africa here, let's be honest. So at least be honest with yourself why you think investment banking is along your personal "path of discipleship" before you dive right in. Stay strong!
Ah yes, Banking. Jesus’s favorite industry
Glad to hear there are other fellow Christians in IB and can definitely relate to all the comments above. I've been working to create an IB Christian networking group to touch base every now and then if people are interested. Mentors would be greatly appreciated too. Comment below and/or drop me a PM and I'll add you to the group.
I think I can help here. There are several things you can do to stay connected - and please know there are a lot more Christian people than you think there are. These are mostly for Protestant / Evangelical folks in NYC / New England but might apply to other folks as well
1. Community - Look up Faith in Financial Services (FiFS) and the New Canaan Society. These cater to mostly financial professionals and they meet in person and online outside of regular working hours. I would also connect to a good church and plug in to their community groups. I no longer live in NYC but there were a lot of churches for every kind of denomination, Redeemer, Trinity Grace, Times Square Church, Brooklyn Tabernacle. Redeemer I know is full of young and middle aged Wall Street professionals. I also recommend going to a small church as it is easier to connect with people.
2. Personal Devotion Time - Probably the toughest thing for me to do was to carve out time to spend in the Word. There is no easy way to do this. Mornings are often the best as you are distracted the least. I find the YouVersion Bible app to be really helpful - Nicky Gumbel (creator of the Alpha program) has a daily devotional on the app that is really good. It takes some time to do all the readings but it is worth it. At work, if your circumstances allow it, put on your earphones and listen to worship songs on Spotify / YouTube. You can do this when you are doing some light reading or even doing some financial modeling. This was always a relief and helped me meditate/destress get a way for a bit.
3. Generosity - The biggest fight you will face on Wall Street is the desire you will soon have for a certain amount of money and for a certain kind of lifestyle. No matter how hard you try, you will soon get sucked into wanting those seven figure payouts, that nice big home in the suburbs or in the Hamptons. There is nothing wrong in wanting money but you can't love both money and God. One good way to offset some of this desire is to give generously. Tithe to your church, to other organizations and increase your % giving as you increase your compensation. This is going to be really difficult, but there is a reason why it is easier for camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
4. Understand your role in the marketplace - I don't think investment banking or investing are inherently evil in the eyes of God. So don't feel guilty about what you do. A lot of the early biblical characters were full time traders and merchants. They weren't full time pastors or folks working in a non-profit. That said, Wall Street doesn't always do things the right way and there are ways it needs to be reformed. Faith Driven Investing and Faith Driven Entrepreneurs are two different groups I'd recommend for folks that are interested in combining both faith and work and finding meaning in what they do. There are a lot of cool people now that are thinking of new ways of looking at capital, returns, entrepreneurship etc.
Please PM me if any of you want some help with some of the above, happy to help where I can!
100% it’s difficult. It’s very easy to fall victim to the world - I particularly struggle with what others think of me. The ONLY way that I can course correct is through trusting in the promises of God as revealed by His Word.
As others have said, take time to read the Bible and make church/community group a nonnegotiable. Beyond that, I try, and often do a poor job of, reminding myself of where my priorities should lie: Jesus > Family > Work. It’s incredibly difficult when you’re chasing a promotion or a bonus to align to that but that’s part of living in the Inverse Kingdom. One other way to practice this is through giving of your First Fruits. Have auto draft set for monthly giving, grab your Bible in the morning before you grab your phone, pray before you even get out of bed. Again I often fail at this but if your heart posture is to look to the Cross before all else then you’re heading the right way.
Muslim here in banking. I still pray 5 times a day and will fast come Ramadan. It's not the easiest thing in the world to leave my desk for 5-10 minutes to pray or fast from sunrise to sunset for a month but that's just who I am.
With this job it's hard to be you 100% but whatever you can keep from you, you gotta go for it..
I've been through this and certainly know your position. OP feel free to DM me (or anyone else) that is going through this. Some key things are below. Sorry in advance for the walls of text.
It is tough, but not impossible. You are at your job for a reason. We know how godless banking is and we're meant to be testament to a different, better lifestyle.