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Your work life balance is heavily weighted towards work early on in life at these firms with the intent being to achieve retirement very early (or be self sufficient or whatever). I’d be shocked if any MF/UMM are fewer than 65 hours a week. I’m at a MF and I’m lucky if I’m ever under 70. Sustainable? TBD. Making money? Ohhhhhhhhh yeah.

 

I say 70+ and I don’t really count. It’s wfh so I take some time to eat and workout when there’s no fire drill (almost always is), but I’m at my desk by 8am and working till 10/11 at least Monday-Thursday. Weekend work is anywhere from a few hours each day to weekend benders. And the work is very intense and stressful. It’s very hard, but worth it to me.

 
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And sorry for not addressing everything you asked. I did not do IB and instead lateraled from a MM PE shop after 2.5 years out of school. My schedule is not predictable at all, but that’s because of my MD. Other groups and offices at my firm have better hours and balance. It’s very dependent on senior management as I’m sure you experience or have seen in IB. But again, I’d echo how stressful the actual work can be. My 65 hour work weeks in MM PE were nothing compared to the intensity at the MF.

 

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