Term is thrown around a lot on this site but at what point would you consider a firm a sweatshop? And not number of hours like actual hours.
Like example you consider consistent 9-3a you threshold for a sweatshop? 9-2? 9-4? Etc.
or would you consider a sweatshop more constant full weekends/no time off at all
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Baird Chicago has entered the chat
Just interviewed for their summer analyst there today lol. Is it really a sweatshop? Thought they said they had protected Fridays or Saturdays or some shit?
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/BairdHoursComp
Sounds like the juniors have gotten pretty nimble over there given they're gripping their ankles every night
Would advice you to stay away. Total sweatshop.
I don't know why you specified Chicago here. The Milwaukee office is worse.
I'm not trying to split hairs, it's the lesser of two evils. Baird Illinois is that better?
GS13 has entered the chat
When your MD doesn't use lube.
I guess being a first year who’s only WFH, I thought doing consistent 9-12/1 was like a norm. My group is pretty consistent everyone’s on till 12 (earlier off on fridays and much chiller weekends) and I thought we had it pretty easy
bro what you talking about 9-12 is a lifestyle shop and 7 hours of sleep is unheard of even for lifestyle shops
pretty sure analysts average 5-6 hours of sleep
9 - 1/2 is the norm and consistent 9-3 is probably sweatshop status
You’ll see when you enter the office. Each bank has everything m. My group is the sweatiest at my bank (9-1/2am even when your just pitching with frequent 100 hour weeks. MDs send comments at midnight and need turn by morning, etc). The easier groups start to clear the office by 10-11ish and have a ton of downtime during the day
Are the easier groups just with less deal flow or are your seniors just very work happy?
A bit on the lean / seniors like to add work. Deal flow is also insane right now
Bank name ends in -oelis
Pitch Pitch Pitch
Sweatshop is consistent 85-100+ hours a week pre-COVID. Now, everywhere is a sweatshop - some banks are just doing a better job of keeping employees happy so those places seem less miserable.
85 hours is considered sweaty now?
85 is the low end. From an hours perspective, that's 16 hours a day (9AM - 1AM) M-F + weekend work.
The level of pitch activity and number of live deals you are on are a good indicator. If you are getting slammed with a bunch of live deals or work in a group that wants to pitch everything then you are going to have a bad time
The other part is culture:
- Do your seniors wait until 7pm or later to drop off work that needs to be done by the morning?
- Do they berate ppl and create time pressure when there isnt any?
- Are you running scenario after scenario even though they dont matter?
- Are you making a 50+ page deck when 20 slides are enough?
Those are the types of questions that make for a sweatshop imo
This is pretty good. Sometimes is not about the hours but about the general feel. Don't underestimate how fake deadlines/insecurities/trying to impress seniors create an unpleasant experience for juniors.
True; if you're working 100 hour weeks but it's because you have 6 live deals going and your VP and MD are giving you timely, straightforward feedback while your Analyst is well seasoned and needs no coaching, it's probably not going to feel as bad as if you're spending 80 hours a week on pitchbooks.
post i'm working on
I can’t imagine being at HL healthcare working miserable hours to just work on some $500M dermatology clinic deal
healthcare's pretty interesting
I am at what many here call a sweatshop. West coast. Usually have 8 am calls, but plenty 6 and 6:30am, and wrap up most days around 1:30-2:30. Usually no time to workout besides the weekend or a quick walk. Weekends are rarely under 4 hours a day. Sunday is a full blow workday most weeks.
How do you deal with the lack of sleep?
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