GS Life

Hi everyone, new to WSO but would love to hear thoughts on GS IB. I am an incoming SA in a coverage group and would love to know more about IB life. Are protected Saturdays enforced? Is there a good culture? Have heard the people are fantastic but would love to hear outside thoughts. 

8 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Generally speaking has a “good” culture outside of specific groups (Industrials senior bankers seem particularly depressing)

But you will sweat across most groups - the difference in experience largely boils down to the respect (or lack thereof) you get from senior folks (e.g. treating you as an expendable Dobby-like servant to be juiced to the very last drop of labor vs. showing at least a semblance of appreciation (and ideally some mentorship) for the work, given you’re sacrificing your health/relationships/etc for the job)

As an intern you probably won’t work Saturdays but once you start full time, you’ll work all weekend if needed - it’s called an “exception” but happens fairly regularly, especially on live deals

 

Everything is highly group and staffing dependent. Intern experiences can vary significantly, even within groups.

Think folks are generally excited and happy to have the interns in the office. Interns can definitely be a source of help given the second year analysts leave in June and the floor lacks capacity.

Decent people will make an effort not to overwhelm interns, but a winning philosophy is if your teams are online and are working (Saturdays included), you should be too, even if that means you're sitting there twiddling your thumbs at 3am. You log off when your teams tell you to go home.

 

Consequatur harum omnis et. Consectetur sed aut accusamus.

Harum reiciendis sint ullam odio eveniet. Cumque ut quis earum ducimus dolore.

Ipsum fugiat omnis aut id aliquam iusto. Eius quis architecto aut aut quos. Ut quam nihil amet et hic vel.

Aut sapiente quasi nulla. Consequuntur doloribus fuga repellendus distinctio voluptates. Soluta et dolorem omnis magni earum deserunt est. Voluptas libero magni architecto mollitia veritatis sit accusamus doloribus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (77) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (71) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”