Hi,
I am currently still in college, but will graduate in about 1.5 years with a bachelor's degree in Business Economics. I just recently found myself interested in the whole Investment Banking industry. Not only have movies like Wall Street fueled this interest, but also do I believe that this industry offers much excitement and seems to be the right place for a energetic and motivated person with an open ear to the financial industry. However, being married, I cannot afford to work 90 - 100 hours or my marriage won't last, which I am rather eager to prevent! If anyone happens to have an idea about opportunities around Investment Banking that do not require more than 70 hours of input a week, I would be very appreciative.
Thanks!
Anselm
Well if you pitch it to your wife like this:
It will be two years of never seeing each other
But then, I will switch into more civilised work. This more civilised work (in the work life balance) usually requires the nuts and bolts training which an IBD two year training course would give you.
The more civilised jobs which use similar skillsets to IBD are (though most certianly not all)
Corporate Development
Venture Capital
Private Equity
PE is (depending on firm size, and whether regional offices or not) highest paid, but longest hours and hardest to get into Corporate Development pays less, is v reasonable hours (unless the firm is actually going through the deal), and easier to get into.
Venture capital occupies a nice middle ground, is perhaps some would say more interesting than PE, as the startups who you work with are often doing amazing things.
Pay of course between all three at the highest levels can be similar, but on the whole as an 'associate' (names change between all three), pay and hours will be highest in pe lowest in Corporate development
Good luck!
f
It's not as if it was the easiest thing on Earth to get a FT offer in PE or VC... By the way, he needs first a relevant experience.
After the first two years, how does the work environment change?...Would you mind to elaborate on that a bit further (i.e. how many hours etc.). Thanks
If that's not a joke, you shoud think about it twice before going into this industry, which is by defintion time consuming. When you say 70h a week, you mean working in FO or it makes sense for you to work in MO or BO, in regard to your situation ?
Well I am sure that FO would be the most exciting work, as there would be the real interaction with the clients. Are you saying though, that in MO and BO I could survive with putting in less hours?
Tell your wife you'll be a baller making a shit tonne of money and that you'll be able to buy her diamonds every week. Watch her kick you out the door.
If you don't mind-- why are you so sure that your marriage won't last if you choose to sacrifice a few years of personal life to build your career? Have you talked to her about it/ has she explicitly expressed that she won't be okay with it? (Sorry if that's the case..)
Oh and I was going to ask "have you looked into S&T" but like the OP said, S&T also much more fast paced-- you can be not very fun to be around even if you get to go home when the sun's still out (in the summer).
I don't know how familiar you are with banks but have you looked into S&T?
I am not too sure about S&T. I would picture this field as being very hectic, short deadlines that don't allow for a thorough understanding of what is going on. Also, I am concerned with the lack of a bigger picture, which I see in a field such as M&A. Would you happen to be in S&T and be able to tell me more about it?
Try to get hooked up with a small boutique firm. A friend of mine did two years at a small shop with 5-10 bankers. He would typically work until 8 or 9 p.m. and usually no more than 60-70 hours per week. Your base pay might be less ($50-55k vs. $60-70k), and you probably won't get as a large of a bonus as you might at a larger bank.
What are the bonuses actually like at the extremely small shops (at the analyst level)? No bonus? 10%? 50%? Or are there just too many different variables to even speculate?
I think its way too tough to make any sort of general statement, its too specific for those types of shops. Furthermore, the smaller boutiques often focus on one industry or industry sub-sector, so they can vary drastically with what's going on a macrolevel and also on the microlevel since the MDs generally have specific relationships with clients.
dont DCM and ECM work like 70 hr weeks?
I want a job that earns a lot of $$$ and have the greatest exit opps in the world, but I'm too lazy to do any work for it! PLZ HALP
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