Not from the industry but planning to enter it. I have seen it on tv shows, heard a lot about it, seen people working late nights. Want to know if all this is true and to what extent? I also got to know from a GS banker that it is not always that bad but long hours happen and come in phases. What about your colleagues, bosses and clients in this industry? Are there any supportive people at all? All I am seeing and hearing is so negative about this industry except the pay of course. Thoughts? Comments? Cheap shots?
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Lol. You came to the right forum for this kind of due diligence.
Apologies for hurting sentiments.
Not really
Sure you might pick up a supportive mentor or two, but you will generally work until midnight or later at most banks and the majority of people are not super happy or easy to work with. Clients expect instant results, MDs are under pressure and don't understand the time outputs take, and your staffers are trying to balance an impossible amount of work across overworked juniors. The exception is the analysts and associates become very close and you can meet lifelong friends/connections during your stint.
People leave banking very quickly for a reason. If you are an MBA, make sure you think/price in a backup plan if you hate banking after 1 or 2 years and move to a corp job
You hit bull’s eye. I m doing an MBA. At Ross School of Business. Are you an MBA too? Any experience with associates and what paths they take/ are open to bankers out of a bank? I have heard the world is open to bankers after quitting but to break is no joke?
I was A2A, but have seen a million MBAs come in thinking IB is the golden land, they will make millions, and after 2 years they are so burnt out they jump to the first gig they get offered. Lots of really random/questionable moves but people just want out. The job is mentally back-breaking to a lot of people. I've seen at least 3 just total breakdowns. Mental health is just way underprioritized in banking and there's no infrastructure to let people chill for a week after getting boned on a deal for months on end.
The world is not really open after quitting, you have to leave with something lined up. I've seen MBA associates go to MF PE (pretty rare, top bucket guy), MM/LMM PE (common, hours can be just as bad) corporate jobs like corp dev, FP&A, asset management, strategy (decent hours, sizable paycut).
The world should be your oyster at Ross. Look at other paths while you can. If you're not enthralled by banking and PE doesn't sound exciting, I would look into things like AM or corp strategy where you can make a lot of bang for your buck, hours wise. Especially if you have a family.
I can still tolerate a staffer who is trying to balance work to juniors with fairness and equality, but my staffer doesn't even try to hide the fact that he protects his weekly drinking buddies at the expense of everyone else.
Would note, GS is a different breed in terms of culture. Everyone in IB keeps it real and no one is going to sugarcoat anything. Think that’s very clear rn. Perform, employed and big bonus. Underperform, unemployed and small bonus. Can only speak on my firm, but my colleagues and clients are all savage. Know most would stab me in the back for their own gain. Seniors are supportive but only to a certain extent. We’re here to make money, this is Wall Street. I have an appreciation for the realness.
last 5 lines are unnecessarily fire
Sounds like you stuck off the realness
Can honestly not confirm, my group is super chill. The other teams and ours shoot the shit like crazy, my boss is literally me in fat and 25 years older, dealflow is solid, and we're poised to have a really good year. Sure, hours are "long" (22-1) and there's some stress, but so far I am honestly enjoying my first year in IB. No backstabbing, no fire drills, no chew-outs, just smooth professional sailing.
Sounds like all the teams I've worked in through my career. I hear the horror stories and think maybe I got lucky. Sure there are hardos in every group, hours ramp up hard and emotions run high when in crunch mode, but generally its been pretty satisfying.
Tone and culture are set at the top, all my group heads have been hardliners about weeding out toxicity. Getting called out/yelled at for mistakes is one thing, but the unnecessary toxicity and bullying has no place in any industry, let alone ours.
Definitely. I have been at other shops before, small boutiques, and that was bad, very brass-heavy and a lot of egos flying around. They got so pissed when I quit lmao.
Rabbit Interested in your take, Is there a right way to call out mistakes to juniors?
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