Playing sport working in finance
I've been playing football my entire life, even getting paid to do so prior to leaving for University. I am currently a student athlete at my university which is a European target and I was wondering, as per your experience is it possible to keep playing at a decent level (think about 1/2 trainings during week more or less post 8pm and 1 game over the weekend) while working in finance in London? If so, in which divisions? By making a bit of research I have come up with corporate banking, asset management and S&T as decent options in that regard, alongside other corporate jobs. While working in a bank or similar would be a safer career path, if there were no divisions in which I could pursue a basic hobby such as sport I would definitely consider other career options as it would be an indicator of a lifestyle that I have no interest in.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, balancing a career in finance with playing sports at a decent level is challenging but not impossible. Here are some insights:
Corporate Banking, Asset Management, and S&T:
Investment Banking:
Other Corporate Jobs:
General Advice:
In summary, while working in finance in London, divisions like Corporate Banking, Asset Management, and S&T are more likely to offer the flexibility needed to continue playing sports at a decent level. However, always consider the specific firm's culture and work-life balance policies.
Sources: , Division 1 College Football Player, Division I All-American at Semi Target- quit or no?, Retired Major League Baseballer needs advice, Investment Banking in London (EMEA) - Strongest Players, League Tables, Salaries, Differences...
I think you've hit the key areas, but maybe you could look at hedge funds too. Very difficult to break into, but the hours are skewed towards the mornings and the friends I have in that industry usually have their evenings free (this might depend a bit on the fund and strategy).
Another one could be Equity Research, which again is morning-skewed. However, during earnings season the hours can be a bit of a write-off, and if one of your coverage companies issues a press release saying their CEO resigned at 6pm, you need to get a note out TONIGHT and footy has to wait. Hopefully this is infrequent though.
If you're looking at corporate jobs already, you might take a peek at the Big 4 (FDD, Audit, etc.) - these are usually more regular than something like IB, although again, there are a handful of exceptions (e.g. Audit during busy season).
I expect to graduate cum laude (Uk first class), but hedge funds are out of reach I think, based on the type of (crazy and very few) people that end up there from my university (think HEC/St.Gallen/Bocconi). Asset management is also not easy because of smaller teams but definitely doable, corporate banking and s&t seem like the most attainable, but I still have to properly research whether corporate banking is a guarantee (on average, I can obviously tolerate a few outlier days with extra hours sometimes, but not on a regular basis) of being out around 7/7:30 pm, there's not much info on here. I considered ECM/DCM for some time but they seem to lean too much on IB hours and unpredictability even if skewed towards the morning. ER from what I could gather seems to be a bit too unpredictable with earnings season and overall being too reliant on external factors. As other corporate jobs I would love to work in some capacity (FP&A?) at large tech firms (many people from here ended up at Google and Amazon, heard Amazon pays shit wages though). Honestly I have never considered the big 4 because from my home country they work similar hours to more prestigious jobs at more prestigious companies and I would feel like not maximizing my studies even subject to the self-imposed hour constraint. Would love MBB but they do not hire grad foreigners in any country.
If I had to, based on my knowledge today, make a ranking of possible solutions maximizing in order 1)WLB, 2)Compensation, 3)Interest of the work itself 4)Prestige I'd probably put Asset management on top alongside some roles in tech, with S&T and Corp Banking following.
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