How bad is life in top paying IB?
I attended a target university in continental Europe and completed two summer internships in MM IB. The hours were intense, typically from 9 AM to 11 PM or midnight, sometimes even longer, with weekend work and constant stress from tight deadlines and the fear of making mistakes.
After graduation, I started in MM ER. While earnings weeks were tough, I usually left the office by 7 or 8 PM, had a social life, and enjoyed my time outside of work. Weekend work was rare, maybe once a month. Admittedly, I wasn't a standout ER analyst.
I then moved to a billionaire's single-family office, where I now work 50-60 hours a week with low to medium stress and very rare weekend work (perhaps one or two Sunday afternoons per quarter) and easier/more interesting works (a bunch of meetings and dinners). The compensation is about 20-30% less than investment banking, including bonuses, for analysts and associates, unless you're a top bucket at an elite boutique or top-paying middle-market investment bank (e.g., Centerview, Qatalyst, William Blair), where compensation differences are more pronounced.
I'm curious about life at these top-paying boutiques. How many hours do you really work from analyst to MD? How stressful is it, and how competitive is it to advance to VP and higher levels?
Depends which firm - the BB’s tend to act like Hydra in the sense that they know if one head goes down, two (or more) more will be available to replace, thus you get treated like a cog in a machine working endlessly. Some of my friends are experiencing this now.
However, boutiques like Q and CVP still work hard, but have measures in place to avoid driving you into the ground. Retention, well-being, and longevity is prioritized.
Hours wise - 9a to 11p would be a quasi busy day for most reasonable top boutique teams, but normal, and maybe even an early day for the BB folks (GS, JP, etc). Keep in mind that if you are in deal mode, all bets are off and hours will vary significantly. As you rise the ranks, from what I’ve seen, the workload plateaus around late-Asso to mid-VP stage, prior to transitioning to a more senior role focused on client acquisition, relationship management, etc.
As with any other job, the “difficulty” in promotion to the top has a lot to do with your ability to i) directly generate revenue and contribute to firm’s P&L and ii) play politics well with the folks already at the top. Obviously not there yet myself, but just from what I’ve seen. Exceptions made if you are just an exceptional talent and specialist in a certain area that is deemed valuable by the powers that may.
Not uncommon for top bucket analysts at Centerview to get staffed on a ridiculous number of accounts and work 100+ hours a week
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