How hard is it to stay in IB?

I'm not talking about how hard is it to stay in IB before you deal with burnout. Rather, I want to know how hard is it to stay in IB if you so choose. Is it one of those things where you will probably eventually get pushed out? Or if you stay and are willing to look past the horrible WLB, will you probably have some sort of job security? Do most people leave IB because they are burnt out and want to go the exit op path or are they just sorta forced out?

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I imagine most who leave are either looking for more cerebral work on the buy side or WLB focused exits. I don’t really see a lot of people getting pushed out at the AN - VP level for poor performance (you have to be bottom bucket and not showing any signs of righting the ship). If you are a strong communicator, pay attention to the details, manage up and down efficiently, and are generally decent to be around I think you should keep your seat relatively “easily” up until at least the VP years. After Director, the criteria becomes more stringent (maintaining strong client relationships and being viewed as a trusted advisor). Just my $.02

 

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