How do salaries / bonuses, banking fields and hours in Switzerland compare to the US?
Hello
I will enter college in fall of this year, studying banking and finance. I'm Swiss and enjoy reading the WSO forums, I do however have a tiny knowledge of the whole banking world and am not familiar with all the terms and abbreviations. Now my question:
Hours, income and different sectors are often discussed here but only in relation to the US banking world. I'd love to know how it is in Switzerland and what fields are "hot" here (e.g. IB, PE, VC, Private Banking, Real Estate, Hedge funds...)
- How does banking generally compare between CH and US?
- What banking fields have 80hrs+ in CH
- What banking fields have 70hrs+ in CH
- What banking fields have 60hrs+ in CH
- What banking fields have 50-60hrs+ in CH
... and how is compensation in these fields?
I'm looking for something that:
- has a higher than traditional 40hrs a week jobs compensation (e.g. high school teacher in CH has 100k in 1st year)
- is challenging and I can improve my skills & knowledge
- Medium working hours (50-65) but can actually be used to work (!) and not just "wait for tasks and fuck around."
I'm aware that your first reaction might be "oh you're not willing to work 80hrs+, good luck don't even try" but I'm 100% confident that there are fields out there that tick the boxes. I don't know many banking sectors yet, but I know that IB (especially M&A) has rather high hours whereas e.g. private banking with high network clients is a bit more moderate. Please share your experience, thoughs and even what your job is like with me, I appreciate it tremendously!
Thank you very much :)!
Switzerland is really big in WM, and pretty much if u want to be in IB ull need to be based in Zurich for which u will have to speak german (most of the banks look for people who speak at least 3 languages I would say). So in terms of banking, u pretty much have one big field in Switzerland, and in the US u have everything. U also have a number of HFs in Switzerland but not easy to break into.
I worked in Geneva for a while and put 60+ hours per week for an investment management firm. However hours really vary depending on the company and culture. People tend to work less hours here than in the US for example. In terms of pay, it is relatively higher in Switzerland than anywhere else, but got to consider living expenses are higher.
let me know if u have any other questions
Thanks! I speak English, German and Swiss fluently, French basics. I am actually going to study in Zurich. What would a typical IB job in Zurich look like in terms of tasks, hours and compensation? What would other finance related jobs look like (WM, HF) and what are the typical tasks one does in these areas (like a "day in life of a Zurich IB / WM / HF" etc guy)
Feel free to share your working experience in Switzerland too :)
Commodi quo earum vel. Earum sed dolorem maxime architecto quos minus. Voluptate beatae repudiandae nulla aspernatur impedit quia rerum.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...