Should you max out 401k if you are a first/second year IB analyst?

My order was, emergency fund (6 months of COL expenses in a money market), traditional / Roth 401k, then anything after that into a traditional brokerage that’s largely broadly diversified low-cost ETFs and a few concentrated single name “bets”.

I honestly would recommend maxing out your 401k if you have the ability to. You can do the math, take a look at what not saving 10% of your bonus would do to a future retirement balance, the compounding speaks for itself. This isn’t to say don’t enjoy it because, what else is the money for? But if you’re gonna make a big purchase, try that analysis and ask yourself if it’s worth it. Personally, I’m holding off on the big purchases until my conservative estimates for a future retirement account are in a comfortable spot.

Another thing to consider, do you think you’ll stay in finance where your future earnings potential is significantly higher or do you plan to eventually leave? If you’re planning to leave, I’d say save as much as possible now so you don’t need to worry about it in the future.