Going to no work/life balance?

Hey everyone. I've been following this site for a couple of years now and always found it to be pretty entertaining and informative. This is my first time posting a question so here we go.

About me: I came out of college and started working in back office operations. After just a little over five years and a couple of promotions, I got sick of the crap pay and the unsatisfying work and started looking for more analytical work. I took the CFA Level 1 and got my foot into the door of a credit rating agency (Fitch/Moody/S&P). I like the work I'm doing now, but feel like I could take my career up another notch and make more money. I still like the sell side credit research aspect, but think it could be more lucrative going into sell side equity research at a bank or even buy side for an asset manager. I'm currently waiting on Level 3 results that are due to come out in a month.

I think I've gotten too used to the easy work life balance that I had in the two positions I've worked in post undergrad. Has anyone ever had some worries about not being able to transition over from 40-50 hours per week max to something that demands 70-80 hours? I think mental and physical health is really important to me and I don't think I'm young enough to keep up with the demands of something like IB.

5 Comments
 

I switched from a less demanding job to a more demanding one. First off, ER hasn't been, at least for me, 70-80 hour weeks. It's usually 11-12 hour days for a 55-60 hour week. I've hit 70-80 maybe a couple of times and its entirely different to 60.

60 hour weeks aren't too bad, things feel a little compressed in the evening but I still workout and get dinner with friends every so often. There wasn't much of an adjustment period honestly.

 
Most Helpful

Ea voluptas iste corrupti ea possimus est eum quo. Aut voluptate est cumque ut laboriosam. Odio laborum rerum quidem quae sequi alias.

Ex perspiciatis sint nulla tempora enim qui. Distinctio beatae nostrum repellat nihil. Quia consectetur vitae vitae. Ut corporis ipsam omnis ratione temporibus adipisci quisquam. Animi excepturi et voluptatibus veritatis recusandae.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (82) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”