A few years back, an email circulated a lot of the BB firms. The email demonstrated that i-bankers make, after various adjustments, the same damn minimum hourly wage as a McDonalds employee.
Has anyone seen this? Could you provide a link?
It would be an interesting discussion topic.
I would like to see a McD employee get into a HF after 2 years :-D
theres no way thats possible not unless "various adjustments" include ignoring the bonus and assuming a 140 work week
ok...well to prove just how ridiculously inaccurate that is, lets look at these ridiculous numbers:
taxes 60K gross * 70% = 42K
hours 100 hours * 52 weeks= 5200 hours
42,000 / 5200 hours= $8.08 per hour
even in this extremes scenario we are banking more than at mickie D's. so its all good :)
I know that per hour it ends up being "low" but that's only comparatively to other wall street positions, and only for analysts, and in some cases associates. I think a more reasonable number is roughly $20-22 per hour. And the exit opps are generally more important. Let's see you join a private equity firm after serving fries...
if you clean the mens room at mcdicks and you do a good job, you might get hired by goldmans to clean their lavatories...
I've heard big IB firms like Gold man Sacks really look hard for the McDonalds-type employee: both are customer-oriented and fast paced.
Exit opps for a McDonalds employee...also a very interesting topic. Burger King. Garbage man. Mail carrier. Homeless. Death.
I don't know what the adjustments were. A JPM analyst was telling me about it. In the original post, I confused two things: minimum wage and the hourly wage for a McDonalds employee. National min wage is $5.15, but what does a McDonald's employee make in NYC? At least $8.08 / hr?
In a sense, we all are earning $60k (give/take) until bonuses come.
I think it’s actually a bit lower than $8.08.
A McDonald's employee would receive OT pay. So on the year, they would earn ~3,000 hours of over-time pay (100 hours per week results in 60 OT hours each week, multiplied by 52 weeks).
Adjusting for this, hourly comp is about $6.20 per hour. Still above $5.15 though...
Everyone (including myself) likes to joke about this, but there's no way it could actually be true.
Let's assume the absolute worst case scenario and say that you work 140 hours a week every single week of the year. Those of you in banking already know this is impossible and would never actually happen, but let's keep going anyway.
Let's also assume that the economy is in a massive recession and you in fact get NO BONUS at all.
$60,000 / (140 * 52) = $8.24/hour, still higher than McDonald's employees. And that's the worst case. In a more likely scenario, let's say the economy is bad like 2001-2003 era, and your bonus is only $20K. You work 100 hours a week on average.
$80,000 / (100 * 52) = $15.38/hour, not great but still much higher than McDonald's. And in a really good year, e.g. this past year when bonuses were $90K?
$150,000 / (100 * 52) = $28.85/hour. By no means is this a stellar hourly wage - it's about on par with other professions at our age.
As others have said, the real advantage from finance comes not from what you make now, but your earnings potential in the future and the connections you make.
Are you serious? 140 hours a week? :| Let's see 140 divided by 7 = 20. 20 hours a day working every single day? a little far fetched don't ya think?
"this is impossible and would never actually happen"
See above - it was an example to illustrate the absolute worst scenario, one which could never realistically happen, at least on a consistent basis.
Attention to detail.
some factors are not being considered here:
1. IB analysts get to work downtown in a decent respectable work environment -> MCD employees work on their feet the entire time in a sweaty greasy disgusting environment
2. IB analysts don't actually work the entire 16 hours of the day - I highly doubt that from 8 to 12 you are working on excel/pp -> MCD employees have to actually work the entire time
3. even if you assume the hourly rate analysis is correct, in order for MCD employee to make the same amount they would have to get A LOT of shifts (which they will not get due to overtime pay) and maybe also work at burger king on the side
I can sit here and write on and on, but I think its stupid to find a fault with the IB analyst position... compared to ANYTHING else availible out there, it is literally a dream job. anyone who has landed it should be happy that they have it... there are lots of smart and hard working kids out there who have no chance in hell of getting these jobs...
If it's such a dream job, then why do people always leave? calling it "stepping stone" or "boot camp" is more appropriate. There are lots of better jobs out there my friend.
You have to be really smart to work at McDonalds. I think some places require a high school diploma. High school was tough.
Smuguy97 - do you think McDonalds employees make min wage even in NYC? I didn't think ANYONE made $5.15 / hr in NYC.
At Mcdonalds, I believe you get 15% of the first ipod you buy. I don't think you get that in investment banking. ;-)
has anyone seen this article? i remember it being circulated a few years back (at least 5 years ago), and would like to see it again.
I think it is a bit of a stretch to say "its stupid to find a fault with the IB analyst position." In my opinion, analytical individuals should be able to find a fault with anything.
What is Your Hourly Wage? (Originally Posted: 08/19/2006)
I just used the "hourly wage calculor" and my hourly wage came out to be $30/hour - pretty much where I expected it.
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