What is the real life in IB

Might be dumb/naive but I have always wondered how much the 9am-4am cliché is real in IB.

From my experience as an intern in LMM M&A boutique, 9am-2am feels like the max the body can support on the long run so what is the life in BB/EB and how do you manage to stay alive. What are the tricks

 

9am - 11pm was about the norm when I was in BB M&A, with usually 2ish nights a week going to 1am - 2am where needed. When closing a live deal all bets are off. There were periods where I worked 8am - 4am for over a week straight, which is absolutely nightmarish. 

Every Sunday I worked at least a few hours, and that would usually spill into Saturday for a few hours as well.

Take away is that IB is incredibly unpredictable, so there's no real good answer to your question.

 
gufmo

Every Sunday I worked at least a few hours, and that would usually spill into Saturday for a few hours as well.

Sunday spills into Saturday?

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Dumb phrasing. I was an Analyst during the first year that "protected Saturdays" were a thing, and they were totally ignored / disrespected. Should've said something like:

Most Sundays there was a few hours of work to do. Default for Saturday was that we were "off", but for the most part if any meaningful work needed to be done on Sunday, it became a whole-weekend grind and an exception to the Saturday rule would be granted. 

 

Sunday into the following Saturday, duh

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

Depends entirely on what sort of deals you're on and how much of an asshole your seniors are. That was for a $20bn deal where I was the only junior beneath Director. Those sorts of hours are very rare though.

I was also on a $70bn deal that dragged on for the better part of half a year, and that was like 2-3 nights a week to 3am - 4am for weeks on end. I would usually get in later, around 10am while I was working on that one, though.

 

Sed aut et nemo rerum dolores magni. Vero atque et velit aut nemo qui totam.

Corrupti fugiat dolore quo ullam voluptas. Quasi officiis rerum est quia quod omnis sed consequatur. Fugit eum earum veniam est quis non vitae.

Inventore doloremque modi quas dolores impedit maiores. Velit sapiente corporis ab nesciunt eos harum esse. Provident voluptatum qui eius omnis velit quia eum ut. Quaerat ipsam sit eos non dolorem ducimus. Rerum nam ut libero et.

Qui qui deserunt deleniti beatae possimus accusamus et. Impedit et illum voluptates laudantium. Distinctio rerum aut numquam aut. Dolores dolor laudantium sed accusantium blanditiis eum. Officiis ipsa ad omnis ea. Voluptatem voluptatem dignissimos sed eos ea.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Lazard Freres No 98.9%
  • Harris Williams & Co. 25 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 04 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.9%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 04 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.9%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (21) $373
  • Associates (91) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (68) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (147) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”