Military reserves while in banking?
I’m currently an incoming analyst at a BB in New York working in coverage. I’ve always thought about serving and was wondering if it joining the reserves is even feasible while working full time in banking?
I know that legally an employer cannot inhibit your career progress due to your commitment but was wondering what it would actually look like in practice. Focusing on my career is a priority but I also have a lingering inclination to serve.
I’m not too sure on which exact branch I’d be interested in but would like to go OCS and potentially serve full time later in my 20s.
Essentially, am I dumb for even considering this or is there any possibility that this is feasible?
A buddy of mine was in the Reserves with me while he was in banking (I wasn’t yet) and he loved it. One weekend a month where his team or staffer weren’t allowed to bother him, he used it as a break and during the summer he was able to escape work for 2-3 weeks depending on what training you had that year. Having that military experience even though it was reserves has helped me with my career thus far and his. You can do it and they can’t stop you.
How long were you in the reserves? And out of curiosity, was is the same branch as your buddy? What was your favorite part of it?
What they don't tell you about is the extra few weeks a year you have to do additional training, respond to domestic events (if nat guard), likely deployment (reserves or guard), possible resentment from coworkers/staffers who feel you're not pulling your weight because you're frequently out of town, despite the fact that drills/activations/deployments are anything but relaxing.
Late to the post, but do you know if this affected his promotion timeline? (Analyst to Associate). Would love to open the floor to anyone else who can speak on the topic.
Can I DM you privately? Just got out of the Guard (11B). I'm an incoming analyst at a BB. Currently in the IRR and considering going back in a year or so. I've never met anyone in the infantry or the military in general who works in finance and had a few questions if you have any free time?
There’s a difference between what the law says and what can happen in practice. Banks can be grossly unaware of the law and requirements. I had a big issue with my bank and they ended up having to pay me 100k+ because they violated my rightd
Did it affect your position at all or did it go through compliance/did anyone on your group know about it? Not sure how seniors would view that....
It's an interesting dynamic - companies value military experience and typically incorporate veteran hiring initiatives...but in an industry like banking, where we're expected to routinely pull long hours and always be on call, having you go off the grid one weekend a month/3 weeks in the summer is obviously not ideal for the firm (and especially not for your teammates). Companies can't "legally inhibit your career progress," but proving military status was the reason for not hiring/advancing someone is damn near impossible.
FWIW I was an active duty army officer for several years, I don't regret my time in service but I def prefer my current job/lifestyle in banking.
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Nothing you do in army logistics/finance is transferrable, so I'd def recommend just going combat arms. It's more so leadership experience/operating in stressful dynamic conditions/working in ambiguous environments etc that employers and adcoms care about anyway. The Army is also a huge dick measuring contest, so people will shit on you for being a support MOS. But if you absolutely hate doing hooah shit and you don't care what other people think I'd say go finance. Most of my classmates in b school lumped all veterans together, ie the transpo dude was no different from the guy in ranger reg. AD experience looks good on a resume, civilians can't really distinguish a good military career from a bad one so all the bullets look amazing to them. I went to an academy so take this with a grain of salt but based on my BOLC experience, it seemed like overwhelming majority of ROTC guys were gunning for AD and the the guys going guard/reserves were the bottom feeders, none of whom had good civilian jobs. Hope this helps, feel free to shoot me any follow up q's
Don't go into your military career with the mindset of "what will set me up best after". You're commissioning as an officer into the Army. Do things that excite and interest you. I'm not saying branch Infantry or combat arms. What I am saying is to think independently of your post-service aspirations, as what you do in the Army (outside of SOF or aviation) really won't matter all that much to recruiters/adcoms, especially in a peace-time military. For me, that meant branching Infantry and doing all the cool/fun schools necessary. Just my 2 cents.
I am at a non-target as well, with a heavy emphasis on going AD - also I am not a shitbag, so AD is not necessary a problem haha. Also currently a PE intern at a LMM Fund, so getting some experience under my belt early.
Heard Engineering is a great branch that will keep you pretty sharp, so definitely considering that as well.
Definitely an interesting dynamic to group all vets together at b school, but can understand why.
Appreciate the insight! I’ll be sure to shoot you more questions if needed.
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