Poll: Are you quitting after bonus?

Thought I’d start a thread to see just how large the expected exodus from banking will be this summer (besides the expected 2nd years leaving)

Comment down below if you’ll be quitting after bonus?

If yes… 1. Do you have a job lined up? 2. If you got a larger than normal bonus or retention bonus would you reconsider? 3. Are you leaving finance all together?

122 Comments
 
  1. Maybe
  1. No
  1. No
  1. Looking to leave ASAP but don’t mind staying on a few months to collect a paycheck while looking for a new gig.
  1. IBs have never cared about you and never will. If anything not going to let my life be driven by golden handcuffs.
  1. Love the industry and finding smart people in the industry is what energizes me. Sadly seems like both sell-side AND buy-side have had severe retention issues the past year, so focused more on finding the right team rather than the “what”
 
  1. Maybe
  1. No
  1. No
  1. Looking to leave ASAP but don’t mind staying on a few months to collect a paycheck while looking for a new gig.
  1. IBs have never cared about you and never will. If anything not going to let my life be driven by golden handcuffs.
  1. Love the industry and finding smart people in the industry is what energizes me. Sadly seems like both sell-side AND buy-side have had severe retention issues the past year, so focused more on finding the right team rather than the “what”
 
  1. Maybe
  1. No
  1. No
  1. Looking to leave ASAP but don’t mind staying on a few months to collect a paycheck while looking for a new gig.
  1. IBs have never cared about you and never will. If anything not going to let my life be driven by golden handcuffs.
  1. Love the industry and finding smart people in the industry is what energizes me. Sadly seems like both sell-side AND buy-side have had severe retention issues the past year, so focused more on finding the right team rather than the “what”
 

As a college student, I absolutely hated taking all my classes online. Why do people not want to go in person?

 

1.  No - in some processes for non corp-fin roles, but don't mind phoning it in for a couple of months while I'm looking around.  If I get an awful staffing during that time, probably gone right away - already halfway out the door and don't need the aggravation. 

2. No - got into IB strictly for the money, but getting out because the money's not worth it and there's easier to be had. 

3. No - I have no other marketable skills, am not interested in anything outside of athletics and my body is completely shot to shit

 

BB IB here - considering leaving - I think it's just accelerated my desire to leave more than anything else.

1. Not yet 

2. Maybe - if you know that you are giving not really intellectually stimulating work and work your guys like dogs in my view if you actually want to retain talent you should pay more (and more discrepancy between top and bottom performers). I am "top" bucket but I don't feel valued as such, I feel like most Funds run leaner and thus I would be a more valued member of the team (may be wrong and the grass is greener kind of thing).

3. I actually quite like thinking around businesses, capital structures, what can go wrong / where is the upside so I don't think that I would be leaving finance anytime soon.

 
Most Helpful

Long time lurker, first time poster (I guess, commenter...). Leaving IB after 5+ years in the industry, 1 year away from VP promote.

1. Do you have a job lined up? Yes, though would have quit post-bonus regardless.
2. If you got a larger than normal bonus or retention bonus would you reconsider? No. # in my head was $500k and even then not sure I would stay.
3. Are you leaving finance all together? Yes. Moving to tech. Hours are better and comp trajectory can be just as lucrative.

Hope this helps. IB is great for some people and not as great for others. Everyone has their preference but I figured out I just did not want to do this for the rest of my career. In my opinion, if you figure out IB is not for you, you should try and make a switch sooner vs later. The more entrenched you are in the industry, the harder it is to "pivot" (already practicing my tech lingo...)

Wishing you all the best regardless. This forum has been a great place for me to browse and collect opinions/thoughts for years now. 

 

Product namely is the biggest draw for IB-like pay but other positions like corp dev, strategy, bizops, partnerships, and even the general finance route can all be lucrative given you join the right company at the right time. Even then, finding these positions at top tech companies can be just as difficult as PE recruiting (numbers-wise), and even for the more risk-adjusted late-stage bets, a path to liquidity is not always a sure thing.  

 

Big4 M&A tax (accounting major). I know... Not finance related but I go to a target and have cast a very wide net with alumni. Overall, pretty positive responses from them (i.e. they think I have a decent shot at landing something/will hopefully vouch for me + said my story for wanting to switch is very valid). Since making the decision to pivot, did all the modeling courses, networking, extra reading, and have been getting a few other more-relevant-than-my-internship experiences on my resume. 

 

Thanks for the response. All good. People are just going to quit to like take a vacation? Are you guys able to speak with your banks to like have unpaid leave or something? Hopefully something can be worked out so that there aren’t any major issues for employees and/or the world or anything of the sort. 

 

BB TMT & HC here - 8 / 10 of my division's analysts are leaving. (5 of them leaving finance altogether.) I always knew about the high turnover in banking but this is insane. I'm not sure how they'd even run the group for the next 5-6 months!

 

Only reason I haven’t left IB so far is because I’ve managed to convince my if I leave now, all those extra hours/late nights i’ve done are technically covered by my bonus therefore I would be giving them the satisfaction of keeping this money.

 

3rd year analyst @ WF Lev Fin in Charlotte

I will run for any other job that pays ~$150k all in comp right now.

There is no such thing as good bonus at WF, the firm is trying to cut cost and I can’t imagine them increasing salary for junior staff. Fuck The Jamie Dimon wannabe.

I will probably still do something in finance but maybe corporate development @ tech firm if possible. But, Lev fin doesn’t place well into those jobs. For all your high schoolers and incoming summer analyst, do coverage over product you will thank me and worship me in your fuckin sleep.

 

3rd year analyst @ WF Lev Fin in Charlotte

I will run for any other job that pays ~$150k all in comp right now.

There is no such thing as good bonus at WF, the firm is trying to cut cost and I can’t imagine them increasing salary for junior staff. Fuck The Jamie Dimon wannabe.

I will probably still do something in finance but maybe corporate development @ tech firm if possible. But, Lev fin doesn’t place well into those jobs. For all your high schoolers and incoming summer analyst, do coverage over product you will thank me and worship me in your fuckin sleep.

 

Can you explain coverage over product? Doesn't coverage pigeonhole you into that specific industry and make it tough to exit to tech unless you're in TMT?

 

Look Monkeys, by working 2 years in covering media doesnt make you a expert in the media industry, and you will have a easier path going into corp dev anything. 3 years at lev fin doesnt even land you a interview @ pornhub. No body outside of finance understand what lev fin is, unless you come from banking. My family thinks Im underwriting loans to fuckin papa john franchise. However, if youre a finance hardo then I think lev fin is a pretty solid gig. Much more deals than in mergers and acquisition.

 

I think WSO interns/prospects like to propagate the "good culture" idea about Barclays, despite having never worked here. Almost every thread with Barclays on it, there will be a few comments on our "culture" - with no credible source other than other WSO threads. As with any other bank, there are good groups and bad groups - same with good seniors and bad seniors. I don't think any bank has a "firm-wide" culture - everything is group dependent. 

 

Damn is this normal, I thought in previous years only second years quit?

 

Vitae consectetur provident velit enim ea est enim ratione. Dolorum porro voluptas voluptate iusto. Cumque suscipit voluptatem similique culpa enim. Amet ipsam eius dolorum aut velit. Quasi ut eum distinctio vel. Eveniet quos ab eos mollitia est veritatis qui rem. Aut tempore ipsam excepturi harum magni maiores ut.

Magnam molestiae debitis vel dolor qui. Et nulla at officia rerum. Veritatis voluptas est dolorem non ea aliquam. Veritatis officiis rem molestias voluptate minus. Distinctio itaque dolores cum dolores nihil in occaecati aliquid.

Aperiam dolor blanditiis enim quia ut. Voluptatem ut laboriosam repellendus nemo voluptatem quisquam culpa. Magnam ea blanditiis et quia. Minima dolor itaque inventore voluptatem quia ipsam.

Aut nulla necessitatibus tenetur libero nulla. Sunt impedit illum hic aut veniam voluptas.

 

Ut est et quam itaque ipsum recusandae. Voluptatem placeat optio sint repellendus aut sint eum. Cupiditate ipsum non totam et. Pariatur natus assumenda placeat accusamus voluptates alias et. Et eum magni eum est.

Voluptatibus facere inventore sint nesciunt ex expedita. Quos iste error aliquam iste maxime. Voluptatem cum quis unde qui dolorem non saepe necessitatibus. Culpa neque sit eum vitae provident. Voluptas vel in in temporibus hic similique.

 

Consequatur qui inventore ipsam aperiam vitae rem. Iusto et debitis unde quos rerum. Voluptas repudiandae quia perferendis odit consequatur doloremque aut. Minus magni qui sint eos veniam. Delectus atque voluptas architecto accusantium. Illum quia corrupti et neque sit aut ut eos. Sit possimus eos eos dignissimos.

Neque est praesentium nulla hic quasi. Doloribus nulla dolorem quia necessitatibus.

Consequatur quaerat in omnis minima. Ad consequatur eum sed.

Tempora molestiae rerum quidem in mollitia nisi. Voluptas deleniti reprehenderit corrupti architecto soluta. Dolore id et nam vitae corporis aliquid blanditiis est. Ipsam consectetur in id quia aut.

 

Est quae placeat maiores. Explicabo et mollitia voluptatem doloribus rerum mollitia. Sed omnis reiciendis beatae fugiat. Molestiae eum eveniet dolor quia praesentium tempora est. Accusantium dolor dolorum quia blanditiis quis. Aliquam enim illo ipsam voluptatibus occaecati omnis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”