Sleep Schedule

So, I’m in a fairly lax major at college and as such have never had to stay up past 10 pm to do work. I usually go to sleep around midnight. On top of that, this semester and next semester I’m at home in the Midwest, but my school is in California so none of my classes start until 10 am/sometimes noon. Am I in for a rude awakening when I start as an SA this June? What’s a good schedule to get accustomed to?

 
Most Helpful

Don't try and get your sleep schedule on an analyst schedule in advance.

If you aren't used to waking up at 8am and need to slowly move towards an earlier wake up, that's a good idea, but when it comes to staying up late it's adrenaline fueled and trying to prepare isn't worth it.

The majority of days are not 3am nights, a midnight bedtime as a college student is fine heading into banking. Sitting at your house until 2am just to "get used to it" is just prematurely ruining your sleep schedule.

 

Would be a pretty stupid thing to do to loose sleep just to get used to being sleep deprived 6 months in advance.  

There’s no “sleep schedule” in IB because your sleep schedule is deal dependant, especially during COVID where you don’t have to face time at the office. You will work from 40 to 120h a week, which may or may not be spread over a couple days only, therefore some days you’ll wake up at 9:29 for your 9:30 call and other days go to bed at 5am and wake up at 7:50 because you have a client meeting - and you’ll understand I’m not the type to wake up excessively early “just in case”. At night I would say it’s hard to go to bed before 12am anyway because if you have a few 3am days your body will be used to going to bed later. 
 

best thing to do is to enjoy your student life while you’ve got free time. 

 

You are young and your sleep cycle is still quite malleable, so I would not overthink or concern yourself with this. It really depends on several factors:

  • Are your MDs late or early people?
  • Are your deals staffed cross-office?
  • Are your clients concentrated on one coast or another?

I've been part of groups where analysts and SAs started at 9:30/10am and others where they started closer to 8am. 

 

Et omnis aliquid eaque sint eos eos architecto. Sequi cumque quae architecto.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (145) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”