VP Hours

it didnt get better with VP in terms of hours. Probably pressure went up due to being final check

Only major positive (asides from comp) is that I have more control on my time. if i need to be at a dinner I can make others work around that time to make sure I am free for that slot

This job is so ass… doesn’t even get better at VP… like tf

Vp level is the easiest level if you have great juniors, but the worst if juniors suck.

In most cases the average junior on a team is mid at best. All the best analysts leave and you’re left with new analysts and mediocre a2as and mbas to supervise. Basically forces you to check work super closely to avoid blowups because all your juniors are new or mid

Hours wise I would hope VPs sit around 50-70 hours a week. Any more than that has to be a deal sprint

VP years are way better.  I work like 50 to 60 hours a week, deal sprint I can do 80 to 90 but its rare.

Ive been around the block enough and am respected by my MDs (who have specifically chosen me to work for them) that I can push back when I want, or call them out if something doesnt make sense.  they in turn treat me more like a peer.

If my analysts or associates can't handle a workstream (modeling etc), I can generally do it faster and better than them and dont hesitate to just get hands on and do it.  often its easier to just bang out the LBO in 25 mins then let them spend a few hours doing it and me spend 30 mins checking it for the all mistakes.

I am under more pressure to make the client happy - really just depends on what seniors are involved. occasionally get on a deal that ruins my week but thats just life.  others MDs are great and dont take things too serious.

I also sort of care less too.  oh...so and so MD is mad at me about something.  phuck off then.  what are you gonna do...fire me (good I have a nice severance from years acrrued and deferred comp ready to go).

since I generally know what I am doing - its just generally more fun.  IB was not fun when I was always confused and felt like I was barely treading water.  Now, I can zone out on calls and when someone mentions me I already know what to say and its correct.

Not in banking but I posted about the same phenomenon ~3 years ago when I was a newer VP (https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/private-equity/vp-work-life-balan…). Obviously the market was probably at its peak when I posted so some of my "success" may be due to that but I ultimately reduced hours worked/week from ~70 to ~50.

My main things were 1) getting better at prioritizing what was actually urgent, 2) upskilling the juniors on my team and delegating more, and 3) simply doing lower-quality work.

For #1, you should have/develop a filter for what actually moves the needle on revenue drivers for your firm. If it's a last-minute thing on docs for a deal that's closing next week, you're going to have to burn the midnight oil. If it's e.g. a pitch for a prospect you're so-so excited about, it's okay to say that you're swamped and you'll get to it later (or give a long-dated deadline in the first place).

#2 was maybe the most effective in terms of time returns. I would give more workstreams to Associates on my team and frame it as a "learning experience," starting as hiving off a discrete portion of what I was doing, and eventually just giving the whole thing over to them. FYI there is a balancing act here as they were all excited to grow their skillsets at first and most got promoted to Senior Associate (in some cases on accelerated timetables), but eventually turnover got worse... not catastrophic, but definitely up from where it was

On #3, I'm a pretty Type-A person who was spending a bunch of time covering every possible angle in the deal, making sure every conceivable threat was airtight, making sure we'd evaluated every growth opportunity, etc. I stopped doing anything besides what IC had highlighted as a focus area and nobody noticed or cared. 

My VP is literally online later than the analysts almost every night.  See him on from 12-3am constantly.

Hours are slightly less, but more importantly I get to determine when and where I work them…to a certain extent. I’d say there is more pressure as I am straddling detail work and higher level work. I have to be able to get into a model, CIM, etc just like before, know every number and bullet point just like before, but also manage clients, manage buyers, and start thinking about revenue generation.

can confirm. i leave the office for dinner (6pm/7pm) nearly everyday, but log back in after dinner and getting admin/life stuff done, sometimes it's 8pm to 9pm, sometimes it's 11pm to 2am, or sometimes i don't, but i mostly do and work weekends also (nothing intense). 

I found VP the worst years. Not so much hours wise but more because 

1. If your juniors are shit you end up doing their work for them for no recognition or reward. If you hassled them about shit outputs many banks view you as the bad guy because Gen Z are soft as shit.

2.you are responsible for every output and effectively the deal execution. Pressure is huge and you're the guy the client faces off to. The flip side is that if you do a stellar job it's very visible to clients and can open doors to buyside roles. 

3. You're not yet senior enough like a Director to wipe your hands of getting in the weeds. If something goes wrong the Seniors just blame you. You are the first stop on the shit ball down hill.

It’s the “easiest” role in the hierarchy if you have good juniors and can actually do what a VP is supposed to do (client management, check the decks for obvious errors, coordinating). But if your juniors are bad, you basically have to be an associate and VP at the same time. Overall, I found my VP years to be “easier” and more interesting because I could spend more time working directly with clients and thinking through how to present pages, messaging,  etc.

(ignore title, I’m a VP2)

If you are consistently in the office past 8pm as a VP feels like you or your team are messing something up (or your work culture is horrible; id imagine there are some places where a VP is more like a senior associate than an officer which would suck)

At a good MM (HL, WB, Piper, HW, Baird, etc). In a sweatier group for sure but the vp hours are significantly better than senior aso hours. I'd say 50-60s usually and deal sprints at 70, not pushing much past 80 really. It all comes down to how good your asos and analysts are, but vps in my group just push work down hard and rarely ever create stuff (unless they want to). Comes with more turns and a worse work/life for the juniors, but can definitely thrive as a vp in my shop 

Associate at JP Morgan, Work hours by week:

Week of Oct 1: 80 hours Week of Oct 8: 80 hours Week of Oct 15: 80 hours …

Below the cap!

Not first hand experience - but from what I have seen / heard from VPs it seems like it depends largely on the juniors and turnover in your group. If you're in a solid group with good juniors, it's less work. If you're in a super sweaty group with high turnover at the A&A level, then you're constantly training people and there's additional need to double and triple check the work of people below you, which adds a lot of additional hours + pressure