How much do investment bankers sleep?
While working in Investment Banking, the average bedtime on weekdays for me was 1:29 AM, with an average sleep duration of 5 hours and 56 minutes. On weekends, the average bedtime was 12:02 AM, with an average sleep duration of 8 hours and 29 minutes. However, behind these figures are large fluctuations day by day.
How Many Hours do Investment Bankers Work? Investment bankers work notoriously long hours, with the typical work week filling in 60-80 hours per week, and the occasional high-intensity work week that can push a banker to 100+ hours.
Ways to make a lot of money in this world
Sure, anybody can make a good living being a doctor or a lawyer or an investment banker where you can make ~$200-500K per year a few years after you finish with your studies, but you hit a ceiling very quickly unless you start your own practice (aka start your own business).
It is no surprise that the average day in an investment banker's life is long and stressful. Those who manage to survive the adjustment period often go on to have long and financially rewarding careers.
Many aspiring investment bankers in that thread said caffeine is the order of the day (or night). Others recommended drinking lots of water, exercising during work hours, listening to hard rock music. Some recommended drugs, like Provigil, Adderall and Dexedrine.
Have you ever heard of Goldman Sachs' 15-minute rule at Goldman Sachs? It means you have to respond to an email in 15 minutes or less no matter what. It doesn't matter if you: - showering - hiking in the mountains - attending your son's wedding - saving someone from a drowning vehicle Unreasonable?
Age plays a huge factor in the decision-making process. Wall Street is an up-and-out industry. Unless the goal is senior management, most people in finance are out of there by age 50. That's not at just the biggest investment banks, either.
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Investment bankers make money through the fees charged to their clients. As discussed above, this includes underwriting fees for arranging the sale of securities and advisory fees for providing strategic guidance.
An investment banker's life is considered to have long working hours, working on weekends, a lot of hard work, and little sleep.
What is the hardest job in finance?
- Most stressful job in finance : Investment Banker (M&A or capital markets professional) ...
- Second most stressful job in finance : Trader. ...
- Third most stressful job in finance : Risk management & Compliance.
Many investment bankers are Type A personalities, which means they are ambitious and driven. Young bankers are inducted into a stressful lifestyle from the get-go. They are encouraged to work long hours with very little free time to fit in socializing or relaxation.
A Week in the Life of an Investment Banker
In an average week, you will not have much free time on weekdays. Many Analysts are in the office from 9 AM to 1 AM each day, and sometimes a bit less than that on Friday or other “slow days.”
Investment Banking Analyst Exit Opportunities: As an Analyst at a large bank, you have access to the full set of investment banking exit opportunities: private equity, hedge funds, asset management, corporate finance, corporate development, venture capital, and more.
Despite the many successful introverted professionals in investment banking, there are still misconceptions about their abilities to network. Many assume that introverts are not as outgoing or personable as extroverts and may overlook them for promotions or leadership positions.
Under the new policy, more than 1,400 senior bankers will no longer have a cap on their time off, while Junior employees will get two extra days off. However, according to the Bank, all employees will be expected to take a minimum of 15 days a year beginning in 2023.
Alfred Feld, Goldman's Longest-Serving Employee, Dies at 98.
Goldman Sachs is the premier investment bank in the world. With an acceptance rate of roughly 4%, it's harder to get into Goldman than it is to get into Harvard or Yale. Let me share how to get a job at Goldman Sachs from someone who did.
| Position Title | Typical Age Range | Base Salary (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst | 22-27 | $100-$125K |
| Associate | 25-35 | $175-$225K |
| Vice President (VP) | 28-40 | $250-$300K |
| Director / Senior Vice President (SVP) | 32-45 | $300-$350K |
Banks don't break out investment banker headcount specifically, but data released last week by research firm Coalition, suggests investment banker headcount across the industry fell only 4% year-on-year in the first half, which is when many of the cuts at Goldman and Morgan Stanley took place.
What are the odds of getting into investment banking?
The lucrative and fast-paced career of an investment banker is a highly competitive one. For instance, in a recent year, 236,000 applicants competed for roughly 3,500 internships at Goldman Sachs. This is common across the industry where acceptance rates for programs are typically less than 2%.
- Engineer.
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Finance and investments remains the surest way to get ultra-rich. It's the industry with the highest number of billionaires, 372, including hedge fund and private equity tycoons, bankers, venture capitalists and fintech founders.
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- Investment banker.
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1. Goldman Sachs is the highest paying bank overall - $398k in combined salaries and bonuses, on average. Goldman Sachs, which paid average salaries of $200k and average bonuses of $199k for 2023, was the highest paying bank we polled.
