Realistic BB Working Hours
Hi all.
I've never worked in banking, but have a bunch of friends who have (and many still do). I have heard many conflicting views on the reality of the working hours at BBs for analysts. The hours will obviously differ from group to group depending on deal flow, but what are the real working hours during the week and the weekend? I emphasize real because I'm interested in hearing from current or former IB analysts, not juniors in high school.
Most people probably have that one friend who stands by the "I work 100+ hours every week" mentality. Although most of my friends on Wall Street say the 100+ hour weeks are possible, they also say those weeks are rare and not the norm.
Some friends (mainly analysts) at BBs have said it's usually around 9:30 am - 12:00 am for Mondays through Thursdays, closer to 9:30 am - 11:00 pm on Fridays, Saturdays off, and 5-6 hours on Sundays. This will obviously vary from group to group, but is this close to the actual working hours for analysts on Wall Street?
From my understanding, the hours have improved in recent years with new company initiatives for "protected Saturdays" and various other initiatives. I assume this to attract talent which might otherwise head to Facebook or Google, as the salaries on Wall Street simply aren't what they used to be.
I realize most groups will probably have occasional 100+ hour weeks with live deals, but what are the average hours like for analysts at BBs?
Any input is much appreciated. All the best.
those hours are correct for my group. however, we do work on saturdays, but thankfully it is usually done from home.
Interned this summer at a European BB in London. The analysts usually worked 8am-12am with ~6 hours work spread out across the weekend. Fridays were an exception, people usually left at 5pm for drinks
Group works earlier because of an integrated corp broking function. Hours got rough when a deal was hot (4am / all-nighters). Usually, analysts would find time to go to the gym during the day. However, they were 2-3 groups in the bank that did routinely work 100 hour weeks. Those groups experience insane turnover, while the more lax ones routinely see A2As and home grown seniors (which compounds good culture + efficient processes)
Was this in a coverage group or M&A?
M&A
Seems fairly accurate. There will be definitely be plenty of nights later than midnight, though, even if midnight is more typical than 2am or later. Friday nights people usually leave much earlier. Weekend seems about right, maybe a tad light (have seen groups where noon-10pm on Sundays was the norm).
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