IB Hours
As a student considering recruiting IB, the IB hours seem pretty insane. I've heard different things from different people. Some people have told me that 100+ hours is the norm and you're constantly working, while other people have said that the "hours" are more hours that you have to be "on call" and less actual hours that you are working. One person told me that they could find time to sleep well, work out every day, and spend time with friends and family while working in Banking in New York. I'm a little confused about how this is possible when these jobs are advertised to have 80+ hour workweeks.
Varies a ton with each bank and with individual groups at each bank too. Also depends on the market. I’d say the “norm” would be 80 hours consisting of in office (sometimes just sitting around) and working from home but this can definitely scale to 100+.
Just have to be mindful about the group you join. Also, if you don’t like the work, you probably won’t last. If the work is interesting, it makes things A TON better.
100+ hours are not the norm IMO, highly group dependent though. Even within banks it is group dependent.
Now isn’t a good barometer because of deal flow but I think ballpark is something like:
M - Th: 9:30am to 12am
F: 10am to 10pm
Weekend: 10 - 30 hours
Friday and weekends vary greatly depending on group or WLB incentives the bank has in place.
I’d say ~70 hours is a lot more common than 100
But yes, you are on call
10-30h weekend work seem excessive if someone finishes work at 12am on weekdays.
In my experience, if someone needs to work such hours, even 10h, they probably work way beyond 12am on weekdays.
Ofc there are always exceptions with bad clients and / or fire drills coming up on Fridays.
Yeah you’re right for the most part. OP said 100 so I was trying to illustrate a more realistic picture of grindy groups that still aren’t 100…could have phrased better
Focusing on your last sentence and center of confusion: banking is a "pick two" system for most people. You can typically handle banking and one other thing with a decent level of consistency / commitment. It can be family, working out, a relationship, a hobby, side hustle, etc.
When I say most people, I'm implying that there are some analysts that are just built different. No matter what request hits their staffing sheet, they just "get it." But this is not the norm. There are also analysts that struggle to meet the baseline demands of banking, or they didn't know what they signed up for.
Depending on the group, deal flow, and time of year, You can expect to work ~9:30am - midnight with a standard deviation of +/- 2 hours. On an average good or bad day, you'll leave at ~10pm or stay until 2am. On slightly rarer occasions, you'll be online until 4am or later, or can leave as soon as 8pm or earlier. On Fridays, you might get a few hours of breathing room to go out for ~2-3 hours for dinner or drinks or partying, but will need to get back online to wrap up comments. Or just take your laptop with you. Saturdays and Sundays are ~4-8 hours spread out throughout each day, sometimes more.
100 hours +, it is true. People are not lying, I don't know anyone around me putting 70 hours, even in this market, at any "prestigious" NYC shop, the norm is 90-100, and the exception is 70. Word to the wise, evaluate whether this is what you want. I think out of undergrad makes sense, opens lots of doors, and you can leave 1 year after. As MBA Associate, a "Tier 1" firm can give you PE exits, other firms, case-by-case.
Again… depends on your group. I don’t believe in FaceTime culture and wouldn’t fare well in a group where that’s important. If your going for a “top” group or “prestigious” bank expect to get worked, but working 100 hours a week on intense deals I believe prepares you for PE or more difficult positions in the future as much as your group might help you place in the first place. This is an incredible route for those who want to persue it. I prefer as much work life balance as possible to manage in this industry. (Which probably means no PE) Although we are back in the office 4 days a week which sucks. I work 50-70 hours and I have sufficient free time. Which occasionally can jump to 100 but not in this market. But it’s true you are on call 24/7. Just that fact can be mentally draining as you can never fully disconnect. I can get a request at 6pm on a Friday and lose a weekend or at 11 on a weeknight. I don’t mind and personally think many more people work harder just to survive. This career takes some sacrifice and a lot of the complaining is all first world problems for people making 6 figures working on excel and ppt. Regardless what path you go down always prioritize your mental health. Too many depressed professionals putting too much weight on their career pushing it day by day forgetting it’s just a job and if you leave it won’t be the end of the world. Don’t become a slave to the money. Oh and your analyst salary does not go that far in NYC and you pray to hit that top bucket spot for a good bonus. End rant. Good luck
Lots of people like to "boast" about the hours that they work and more often than not it is exaggerated. Some groups do get worked to the bone (looking at you RBC PU&I). However, I would say the norm is 70-80 hours per week with downtime within those hours waiting for comments etc. You are on call 24/7 though which as already stated is incredibly draining due to the lack of foresight
There’s a lot of down time even in the sweatiest group. But yes you are expected to be on call 24/7 even in the chillest group. If ur VP sends you an email asking for something on Saturday and you respond on Monday it would not bold well no matter how nice the group is.
I won’t go into great detail, but the hours in Europe are better than those of the US from what I can tell.
This is less true if you work at a US bank in Europe.
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