Pay and Work-Life Balance

ER seems to give a pretty good work-life balance compared to other areas of finance, as well as a respectable pay and interesting work.

Is there any other role which offers a good pay/good work-life balance or is ER the only one? (I know it 'varies depending on the person' in terms of the actual work, hence I'm limiting the question to work-life balance and pay)

Slightly random unrelated question: to succeed in ER do you need to follow the overall market (e.g. S&P 500, FTSE etc) or the major trends in your sector?

Thanks!

 
hopesanddreams:
ER seems to give a pretty good work-life balance compared to other areas of finance, as well as a respectable pay and interesting work.

Is there any other role which offers a good pay/good work-life balance or is ER the only one? (I know it 'varies depending on the person' in terms of the actual work, hence I'm limiting the question to work-life balance and pay)

Slightly random unrelated question: to succeed in ER do you need to follow the overall market (e.g. S&P 500, FTSE etc) or the major trends in your sector?

Thanks!

ER is a good one. I'm not in S&T but I hear the work-life balance is pretty good. Was previously in corporate development for a F500 and balance was phenomenal. ~85k all-in comp for analyst, work 40 hrs a week, 50 at absolute most.

and yes, ER guys ABSOLUTELY need to be aware of everything that is going on in their coverage area; so that incl the industry, covered companies, competitors etc.. Overall market stuff isn't as important but i would imagine that in order to be successful you would need a pretty solid understanding of the macro trends.

 

I still like the valuation of companies (and other IBD work) - its just the hours are a killer in IBD! haha

Corp development sounds cool - PM'd you to get more info.

Where can I find stuff about 'their area'? I'll be applying for internships but I'm not sure what area I should focus on given that any team (within ER) could end up hiring you... any ideas? Macro trends - again - is there a good summary somewhere?

 
Best Response

I am definitely pleased with ER. Way better than IB in my opinion, but different (arguably worse) exit opportunities. My goal is a L/S equity or Value HF, or a long-only AM. And ER does fine there. But no real shot at PE.

As for trends: read the economist, WSJ, etc. for macro trends. Even a subscription to Business Week can help. For industry trends, find trade journals. For instance, you might look at American Banker if you interviewing for banks ER.

It also helps a ton if you can find an alumnus (or really anyone) to talk to in your sector. For instance, in Banks, a big problem is that ROEs are generally not high enough to cover the Cost of Capital for large banks. Note: I don't cover banks, just enjoy following them - so take what I say with a grain of salt.

 

You might want to look at project finance and specialised lending. Decent pay, interesting work (you're ultimately making highly bespoke loans) and the hours are pretty cruisy. Around 60 a week.

 
Azimut:
You might want to look at project finance and specialised lending. Decent pay, interesting work (you're ultimately making highly bespoke loans) and the hours are pretty cruisy. Around 60 a week.

Don't mean to highjack the OP's thread, but how do you break into project finance as a non-target grad? I am interested in project finance mostly from an infrastructure, energy, or real estate perspective and I don't really know where to even begin looking for jobs in this area.

 
Viktri:
I start a sell side ER internship next week and was told my hours will be 7 to 9 and I won't work many weekends. I think the internship will average 70-75 hours per week.

This varies a lot depending on analyst. I might do 7 to 10 on average during earnings (again, light if any weekend work). But outside of earnings, 7 to 7 is normal, with the occasional slow day (I love getting out at 5:30)

 
Viktri:
I start a sell side ER internship next week and was told my hours will be 7 to 9 and I won't work many weekends. I think the internship will average 70-75 hours per week.

@Viktri. Any chance you could PM me on the details of the internship / how you got it? Are you a student?

 

ER can actually have some brutal hours, depending on your shop and location. My buddy at Goldman in SLC has to be up and at his desk an hour before the market opens in New York, or ~4:30 am mountain standard time. I'd personally rather be at a desk until 8:00 pm every night than arriving at 4:30 am. Not everyone in ER has to be working while the markets run though, from my understanding.

I'm an oil and gas risk analyst and I love the hours. Rarely more than a ten hour day, as the highest volumes of NGL and crude deals happen before 10 am. I think the only folks with more relaxed hours:pay ratios are the traders and execs

 
CaR:
ER can actually have some brutal hours, depending on your shop and location. My buddy at Goldman in SLC has to be up and at his desk an hour before the market opens in New York, or ~4:30 am mountain standard time. I'd personally rather be at a desk until 8:00 pm every night than arriving at 4:30 am. Not everyone in ER has to be working while the markets run though, from my understanding.

I'm an oil and gas risk analyst and I love the hours. Rarely more than a ten hour day, as the highest volumes of NGL and crude deals happen before 10 am. I think the only folks with more relaxed hours:pay ratios are the traders and execs

You get free time in o&g trading (or any trading for that matter) but I wouldn't necessarily call it relaxed =\

 
whitemamba1309:
CaR:
ER can actually have some brutal hours, depending on your shop and location. My buddy at Goldman in SLC has to be up and at his desk an hour before the market opens in New York, or ~4:30 am mountain standard time. I'd personally rather be at a desk until 8:00 pm every night than arriving at 4:30 am. Not everyone in ER has to be working while the markets run though, from my understanding.

I'm an oil and gas risk analyst and I love the hours. Rarely more than a ten hour day, as the highest volumes of NGL and crude deals happen before 10 am. I think the only folks with more relaxed hours:pay ratios are the traders and execs

You get free time in o&g trading (or any trading for that matter) but I wouldn't necessarily call it relaxed =

I would absolutely agree with that--poorly phrased on my part. I suppose I just meant the bullpen is the first place to look if you're looking for a post work cocktail...or ten. Hours might be comparably generous, but the stress is lucid

 

I'd like to know who in ER isn't working market hours+? You never know when your management team or a competing team is going to say something stupidly ambiguous in public that your clients want clarification from you on.

 
International Pymp:
many real estate PE firms have totally relaxed hours and very good pay, particularly once you rise above associate.

Aren't they traveling all the time though?

My name is Nicky, but you can call me Dre.
 
aempirei:
International Pymp:
many real estate PE firms have totally relaxed hours and very good pay, particularly once you rise above associate.

Aren't they traveling all the time though?

Yes, but assuming te travel is for acquisitions and not fundraising it's usually enjoyable and not that marathon-like.... I like it, at least... Traveling on the road show when raising a fund is much worse and different, but you dot have to worry about that till you're high up so at least you always fly first and stay at the ritz, which eases the pain.

 

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