30 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Depends how much experience you have but why not try to be a senior financial analyst at some F-500 company?

On Glassdoor a lot are in that top 90k-120k range and I’d imagine it’d be close to 9-5? Maybe even Hybrid of WFH?.

Another idea would be CB under CIB at some bank. Not necessarily a 9-5 but on average I heard the guys in my city working 9-6 or 7 (occasional late night here and there) weekends off and plenty of PTO and vacation time. Also heard a lot of banks are still hybrid.

Just my two cents, best of luck man I recently decided that 110k base and subpar bonus after tax and this upcoming recession is not worth destroying my health or youth for

 

10 - 15 years.

You can make a decent chunk of change in about 5 years but it will take at least 10 - 15 years to break the 1MM per year number in most cases. 

 

3.5 years post grad and I’m clearing over that working more or less a 9-5 at every job I’ve been at. If you have 2 years banking experience you can easily land a senior financial analyst role in FP&A or strategy somewhere and command over $100k easy.

 

Not sure what you mean. The largest companies in the world have both FP&A and Strategy teams

 

i left a different division of a BB and now work at a SaaS startup as a senior financial analyst making $115k base. fully remote.

about your comment above - fp&a and strategy can be stressful in their own ways, but nothing compared to banking. have worked later if needed but i love what i do so it didn't stress me out a bit. can DM if you comment with username and answer any questions you may have

 

Commercial real estate (not IB/PE), FP&A, asset management, investor relations, PWM

If you want to coast, go for a larger company that you can "hide" a bit in and not a startup where you will be very visible/have to wear a lot of hats

Array
 

I want to learn more from you. I am tired of the inconsistency of consulting and need to leave. Is it advisable to go for 9-5 so early in my career? I hate this job with a passion.

 

Yes plenty of people jump to a 9-5 after a year or two. I would recommend something that is still interesting/engaging but just works on a more reasonable timeframe. Plenty of cool jobs out there where people tap out at a normal hour and still make solid money.

Array
 

110K, just get a job with the feds, look at the SEC, FDIC, or Fed. They all have salaries that are better than the GS levels and even get out before 5 sometimes probably.

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

Definitely would recommend Financial Planning. Pretty low stress job and can easily get north of $110k after a few years. When I was in the industry I had coworkers making $330k who worked 9-3, hybrid, with lots of PTO. Just have to find the right company. 

 
Restless

government

Gov’t contractor pays much better than actually working for the gov’t and the hours are the same. I had the DoD as my client for 4 years.

"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
 

I work as a Procurement Category Manager within a large financial firm. Responsible for working with Real Estate and Facilities team to buy goods and services needed and negotiate contracts. Current salary (6 years out of school) is 120k (100k base plus, 8% individual bonus,12% firm bonus). Contracts are for projects in the 5-20 million dollar range on average. Hours are 8-5 (can be a bit more when busier), but job is lower stress since projects are planned for months in advance before contract is needed, giving yourself a large line of sight and ability to plan out workload. Job also is highly regarded as it does affect the bottom line (impact can be in millions savings from your negotiations alone) and gives enough variety depending upon your category. Overall a really solid job that I dont think gets enough attention in the finance space.

 

Haven’t certain banking groups improved wlb to essentially become closer to 55-70 hours weekly? Not exactly a 9-5 job but not too demanding either

 

Quia et odit magni ducimus non sint. Aut magni aut cupiditate qui enim. Et error repudiandae atque aut voluptatum distinctio nulla.

Accusamus praesentium perferendis architecto praesentium qui dolor at et. Magnam quo fuga nisi vitae. Modi dicta vel minima nobis.

Saepe cum dolores quidem sit facilis voluptas. Et officia sed laudantium molestiae esse est. Rerum nihil molestias distinctio enim dolore quae exercitationem. Voluptate adipisci ex est voluptas consequatur rem quasi. Aspernatur sunt sint eos aut quam saepe.

Sit voluptas aliquam eveniet magnam. At sapiente dolorem quis tempore ipsam enim odio. Dignissimos non est sunt placeat facilis quo. Qui dolor quia ab sit nemo consectetur officiis. Veniam quasi culpa sit qui.

 

Natus accusamus aut qui eos suscipit vitae pariatur. Quae corrupti ex et veniam necessitatibus. Possimus dolorum adipisci ducimus commodi consequatur.

Quo eaque voluptas delectus amet aperiam provident fugiat. Autem aliquam ut iste qui officiis. Odio sequi omnis et voluptas animi aspernatur. Aliquid qui earum aperiam sequi. Est ipsa ratione harum dolores voluptatem. Enim assumenda alias assumenda eum beatae ea est.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”