More good news. A recent study published in the European Heart Journal claims that working as few as 3-4 hours of overtime per day increases a worker's risk of heart disease by as much as 60%. Out of the 6,000 workers studied, 369 of them (over 6%) developed heart disease that led to death, heart attacks, or angina.
This is significant because we're talking about civil servants here, not investment bankers. So the 4-hour daily overtime that drove these people to heart disease amounted to a 60-hour work week. Total. How many hours per week does the average investment banker work?
I'm reminded of a guy named Shelley who was in my office when I first got started. He was always a stress case, was 34-years old (seemed ancient at the time), and he still lived with his mother. One day some stock moved in the wrong direction and Shelley's pump seized right at his desk. Hell of a mess. He managed to survive, but it was a pretty serious heart attack. At 34.
My point in bringing this up is to make you aware that you're probably trading years off the back end of your life to do what you're doing now. It's a trade-off we've all made, and there's nothing we can do to change it (aside from quitting immediately). With that in mind, you have to make a commitment to take care of yourself.
The overtime and the takeout food are killers. Do your best to eat healthy, get to the gym or some form of regular exercise, and do something you truly enjoy in what little down time you have. By the time you've made enough money to build the lifestyle you truly want, you want a few healthy years left to enjoy it.
My dad died at 76 from heart failure (complicated by diabetes - another uniquely American disease). He lived a good life, but I don't think too many people would say he was "old" when he died. He worked two and three jobs at a time for most of his adult life. The end was not pretty. He checked out on an operating table while they were repairing complications from a recent quad bypass.
I know it's cliché, but all the money in the world isn't worth your health. There's plenty we have no control over, but we can definitely make a commitment to take charge of our health and limit the damaging effects of the crazy hours we work. Unfortunately, I think a lot of us are going to get to the back end of our life and look back and wonder why we pushed so hard in the beginning. But such is life.
Have a great weekend, and try to get out and do something (or someone) enjoyable. Your heart will thank you for it!
dunno, maybe it's different if what you do = what you enjoy.
^^^ I think that's a big part of it. If you're doing what you love, you can probably do it all you want with no ill effects. It's all about work-life balance.
Does anyone honestly think there are people that enjoy being an investment banker? I'm not talking about the prestige, the material gains, the "stepping-stone" mentality, or any other derivative benefits--- I'm talking the powerpoints, the formatting, the word processing.
From where I'm standing now--- making 6-figures right out of college seems like the best thing in the world. But in the back of my mind, I can't help but ask if a couple of hundred thousand dollars is worth the years I'm taking off my lifespan. (and I know the answer is of course not)... what can we do? stupid capitalist market....
It's not just the "powerpoints, the formatting, the word processing", some in IBD like the service that is provided to corporations and society. Just like how a volunteer in a non-profit gains satisfaction from seeing those that she helps lead better lives or an engineer in Apple enjoys seeing everyone have mobile music access because of his labor.
IBD plays a core role in making corporations more efficient and financing projects, obviously it boosts the magnitude of economic growth and the speed of technological progress greatly. Indirectly it is the key behind everyone's relatively high standard of living. I would say that those at the VP/MD level are inspired by that greater role, despite the daily grind - because they can see the effects of their work more visibly than an analyst.
Neil Ferguson's "Ascent of Money" book and PBS program explores the historical importance of finance and its component fields. As Blankfein said, "God's work".
very impressive, I am assuming you are not in IB.............or do not have IB experience, People chose IB to make shitload of money and not for the greater good shit...
This is fucking laughable. What a joke.
I'd question the study. The bank, especially in the older crowd, is all overweight guys. The overtime itself doesn't cause heart disease. I assume it's the opportunity cost of not working out. Also stress throughout the day is probably a big cause.
A really good friend of mine was a corporate lawyer for a big name firm and worked massive hours. He died at 28 of a heart attack. 28... years old. He worked all night and ordered shit fried food for dinner. That really changed things for me.
My own story... I worked for GS for a bit. Did the whole work around the clock thing. I started dating my current girlfriend around the same time. I stopped hanging out, my friends blamed my girlfriend, and still to this day have a lot of anger against her because "she took me away from them." She had nothing to do with it, but all they see is that I stopped coming around shortly after I started dating her.
I started at GS when I was 26, prior to that were the best days of my life... hands down. I am comfortable now, sure, but I regret accepting GS's offer to this day- the money wasn't even nearly what I thought it would be.
At some point, you have to work to live, not live to work. I guess it all depends on what your goals are, I grew up modestly, and enjoy wings and beer and good friends far more than $$$$$ french food and a few assholes who spend all their time jerking each other off about how much they make. I can now easily afford a decent house in a nice area, and all the wings and beer I can shove down my gullet, but I am not in the race to the bottom to get the summer house in the hamptons, a yacht, or even a porsche.
I am pretty sure when I die I will look back at my happiest days as being 25, and drinking $2 beers on sundays with a few of my friends and not having to give a shit about much of anything.
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