Hey guys
A family friend recently asked me about my hours, and if they're really as bad as they say.
That got me wondering about just how many hours someone has worked, and so I ask:
What is the craziest/most hours you've ever worked in a week?
I've never had to work more than 90, so I guess i'm lucky compared to some insert Moelis analyst
| +50 | Interviews Are So Fake | 33 | 8h | |
| +33 | 2024 UK Election - Tories finished? | 21 | 1d | |
| +29 | ADHD ! | 14 | 2h | |
| +29 | Non-Competes Banned | 34 | 2h | |
| +29 | Being Christian in investment banking | 14 | 2d | |
| How do I become Sigma | 15 | 1d | ||
| +19 | Moelis has the cutest Analysts? | 4 | 2d | |
| +18 | Best NYC neighborhood for single 30M | 12 | 4d | |
| +16 | Underage intern, drinking? | 7 | 2d | |
| +13 | Secretive vs Universal Prestige? | 7 | 2d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
bump
Worst 7-day stretch I ever had was in the ~120 hour range, although that was more due to incompetence on my part (I was only 2 months into my analyst stint and staffed with a first year associate--talk about a blind leading the blind situation).
Ordinarily a "bad" week is probably anything over 90 hours.
120 sounds like hell I've lived the good life lol
140+ hours one week. It was a pitch for one of the biggest deals ever. We ended up losing unfortunately...
Usually 70-80 hours though when on a deal and 60-70 when not on a deal
EDIT: It was one of the biggest deals ever in my group's history. My group doesn't do those front cover news page deals but the company was worth $3-5bn.
Curious, do you split the 80 hours by doing 16h days during the week or do you move some to the weekend?
Unfortunately, in banking, you can't just split things up like that. It really just depends on when each workstream is due and the seniors' expectations so my hours on a certain day vary.
For example, if I'm pushing to get something out to the client on Friday, I'll be working more hours on Wednesday and Thursday to perfect the deck rather than earlier in the week.
What was the deal?
Can't reveal because it's still in process with another bank.
100 per week I guess
Maximum hours have been around 110-120 but its just been 2 weeks in my whole analyst stint and one of those was also in my first month doing an RfP with little experience and no guidance from the associate
120h week followed by a 100h week. Still remember trying to recover from this torture in the 80h week that followed. Fuck M&A, man.
168hrs
Not in IB but had a crazy April in my corporate strategy role helping my firm (commercial bank) stand up the Paycheck Protection Program and likewise helping register deals.
Hit 110 the first week and 130 the second week, capped off by a 28 hour straight all-nighter until the registration window ran out. Unfortunately it didn't taper off and the third week was around 100 hours.
Crazy experience and was caffeine-free the whole time except for the all-nighter; adrenaline can be quite the drug.
Sounds awful
Damn, we’re you building something to automate the process? I had a similar experience at a commercial bank my first week off school with PPP but only clocked 85ish.
I feel that the amount of hours you work should also be reflected as a % of your usual hours. If you typical weeks are 90h and your longest is 100h, that's an 11% increase. Whilst if usually work 80h then 100h is suddenly a 25% increase. Consulting hours are different but my usual weeks are 60h and one week ended up being 90h. When you're not used to that, a 50% workload increase really sucks.
90-110 usually but depends on the deals I'm on. Can get tiring but I know I'm helping rich poople get richer so that makes me happy by vicariously living through them.
120ish was the worst ever. Accelerated ~$15bn negotiated sellside for a long-term strategic client we had. Only Analyst and the Associate was out for the two-week period the deal went for, so it was just me, the Director, and the MD grinding it out for what turned out to be a massive fee.
Lots of reward for two weeks. congrats!
Was more like the capstone to a 5-year plus relationship where we did a number of ~$500mm tuck-ins and a lot of strategic work. Client in general was always a headache...
120ish was the most time i spent in the office for a given week. The worst though was working 72 hours straight 3 weeks into my summer analyst program.
I'm assuming you hated the bank you interned at if they did that to an intern for Richard's Saké.
They need to treat interns better. Less than 50% of interns at my place accept b/c of how they are treated.
I've only broken the 90 hour week threshold a few times, the first handful were when I was a paralegal doing corporate law work and we had a deal closing. those two weeks were horrific and I think my 23rd birthday happened somewhere in there. I got home to a box of cupcakes my then-gf had sent from a bakery in Ann Arbor and my roommate, knowing I was going through hell at work, lit candles to surprise me when I got home. of course, I got home at 2 in the morning, so the candles melted all over the cupcakes and I couldn't eat any of them.
the other horrible stretch was when I was in compliance at a large asset manager and the SEC came in for an examination, had to pull together thousands of pages of documents for Bates stamping and proofread everything to make sure we didn't horribly incriminate ourselves. we got off pretty much scot-free (it was also during the Obama years when the SEC actually tried hard) so all in all it was worth it.
tough times don't last, tough people do.
115ish, in the week leading up to a huge pitch during my first year. This was immediately followed up by a few 90-100 hour weeks.
As to why it happened—group was very understaffed (or lean!) at the junior level so there was no associate or 2nd analyst staffed on the pitch. Just me and a VP working with every coverage/product MD imaginable.
Probably ~100-110 when I was an analyst. We were pitching a sale to a SPAC. I can say with confidence I had no idea what I was doing.
I would like you all to report actual hours worked, not time spent in the office. Just like you do in your timesheets. I know a lot of poelpe who are in the office 24/7 but are actually only working 10% of the time. They need to learn how to best manage their time.
70 hrs in a single week was the most for me when I was an Analyst
You had it so easy when you were an analyst...I'm jealous. Bet you're working harder now
70 hours in a single week as an investment banking analyst? That was your most hrs worked in a week?
The 70 was the most hours in a week, but there were consistent 50-60 hour weeks in between too
That was like 16 years ago LoL... the hours now are nothing but the stress is 3x as much
Life gets more stressful, the older you get. FACTS
Ugh all I know is that WFH means there is no line between work and play, Jesus
I’ve knocked out 80 hours since Monday and still have the weekend to go. This week will end up being my record.
Can't make this up, 62 hours in the office with literally no sleep. This is NOT bragging this is NOT showboating, I literally felt like I was about to die of heart palpitations. Never ever again
I try not to work too much time because it negatively affects my mental and physical health.
I think 70 hours one week was my worst week.
My worst week was somewhere between 111-119 hrs
Just hit 110. Not as bad as it sounds but feel like shit cause you worked all day Saturday and Sunday
Voluptatibus explicabo eveniet quasi eum. Ut deserunt culpa amet quis. Iusto consectetur mollitia eum et.
Nihil repellendus nihil nisi voluptate quasi labore. Sed sit quia sint in quo est unde. Expedita explicabo rerum placeat. Voluptatem harum inventore quae ut et.
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...
Impedit voluptas enim sed ducimus rerum voluptatem. Hic aut consequatur qui voluptatem molestias voluptatibus voluptatem. Itaque suscipit quos dolore officiis ab dolorem. Ullam autem culpa in placeat ut nobis quia. Aut deleniti porro qui eos ad. Aut neque voluptate magnam voluptatem est perferendis. Quo nihil dolores sed est nobis perferendis autem qui.
Pariatur aut iure eos quisquam. Omnis necessitatibus non ratione nobis cum. Aliquid reiciendis nemo dolores quis laboriosam aut. Reprehenderit molestiae vel id dolores voluptas sint.
Fugit similique occaecati sit maiores accusantium qui ullam. Praesentium laboriosam ducimus error. Delectus quibusdam corporis aspernatur vel adipisci est. Ut minus neque sit enim commodi nihil. Voluptatem neque dignissimos aut ad.
Id velit qui ad necessitatibus facilis. Quod at porro esse iure. Dolorem molestiae deserunt eveniet id vel esse. Exercitationem deserunt reprehenderit nesciunt iure alias est minima. Suscipit placeat enim eligendi temporibus numquam voluptatibus ut.