Mass exodus of investment bankers leaving IB?

Over the past couple of months I've noticed a lot of analysts leaving IB, and I'm wondering why that is. Is it because work life balance is just worse from WFH all the time (being on standby 24/7/365) or is it because people are just finding it easier to recruit from home or some other reason? 

12 Comments
 

This happens every year, wfh is a factor but not the whole reason. For any year that has this level of deal flows, you’ll get crushed and those distanced MDs won’t just turn into your office buddy after get back to office. (Didn’t see many of them for weeks in pre-Covid time.)

 

I dont know why people are doing investment banking man. The hours are the worst in the planet

 

are you working those insane hours just for the money? Like are you afraid of getting sick? Enjoy life man!

 

Yup pretty much WLB has gone out the window. Know of first-years who think about quitting every day and second years who've already jumped ship to buy-side where possible.

 

Delayed gratification, but what's the point of delaying living the best years of your life (20s) for gratification in your 30s and 40s if you even plan to stay it out for that long? And for current bankers, what do you guys think of these two videos? Both left banking recently and they stated their reasons as their priorities having "shifted" and they want better WLB / want to enjoy life more. The guy's going to a start up and I don't know where the girl's going. Is this what most bankers are generally thinking when they want to leave or is it just cuz the work is too crushing on their soul and wfh made it worse since there's no line between work and life? I'm just confused because it seems like everyone's leaving the industry right now and I don't know if this is just a normal year or perpetuated by WFH. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX3NAKh084A&t=604s

 

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