Going into 2nd year at MM IB, want out

Hey monkeys — need your input on my current situation and would welcome any advice / thoughts (sorry for the long post in advance):

Background: I graduated from a non target in the northeast last year and accepted a IB job at a lower tier MM IB in NYC (think stifel, rayJ, cantor, piper) working in the healthcare group. I wasn’t exactly set on IB coming out of college and didn’t have great internship experience so I was happy to receive the offer. I understand that a lot of you will sh!t on me and say this is a crappy job etc. but that’s not what this discussion is meant to be about.

The issue: So I’ve been at this bank for over a year and I can say it’s been a nightmare (more than usual for a first year according to my friends at other banks, even B.B.) My associate is horrible and my director is even worse. Associate is more just bad at his job than anything which makes me have to take the associate role over sometimes as far as delegating work, communicating with seniors on projects, planning out projects, etc. and my director is just a trash human being (everyone at the bank actually hates the dude and multiple juniors have quit citing him as the main reason for leaving). He has said many things to me that are over the line and his rep on the street is not good (have talked to many people and they hate the dude) I love my MD and he is aware of the problem with the director but whenever he talks to the director things get good for a week or so and then go back to Normal. My MD and the director don’t get along at all since I joined the group is pretty dysfunctional/ not a good work environment at all due to said director. The associate doesn’t help either but I think the main issue is the director. I know I sound like I’m whining but from talking to other people this doesn’t seem to be the norm. On top of it I work 80+ hours a week (most of it is for the director who brings in little to no money and has me doing ridiculous stuff my MD would never give me. He is addicted to banking and is always working so he likes me to do the same. On top of all that, my base pay is street but my bonus is horrible (hence not worth putting up with this BS)

I’m getting through but I honestly don’t think I can make it another year or 2 here or even want to. I now realize this bank is not great and my exit ops would be a joke after 2 years if I wanted to do anything buy side. I feel like if I stay here I will be an associate and hate my life working under this director and just never be happy.

So my question to you all is: 1. Am I just over reacting and this is common at other places as far as how senior bankers treat juniors? 2. How hard would it be for me to make the jump to a top tier MM bank (would like to stay in healthcare as I do enjoy the space) or a low tier BB for a year or 2 so my exit ops are better (I have contacts at other banks and feel that I would be able to get interviews at a lot of places I just don’t know how much of a disadvantage I am at since I’m not coming from a great bank) 3. Have any of you had similar experiences with really shitty seniors / associates and how have you handled them?

Thanks in advance for the comments / guidance as I really am just at a roadblock and not sure what to do. I think all signs point to myself needing to leave this firm ASAP but wanted to see what my monkey friends thought first. I get life as an IB analyst sucks for the beginning of your career but this is getting to the point where I’m miserable and hate coming to work in this hostile / dysfunctional work environment.

Thanks guys!

17 Comments

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 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

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 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”