The average working hours of an investment banker is reported to be around 60 to 80 hours a week. Getting any deals done in the investment banking world requires a lot of manpower since there are actually a lot of moving pieces in mere simple financial transactions.
The jaw-droppingly long hours investment bankers work are legendary. A widely-reported recent survey of first year analysts at Goldman Sachs revealed that they work on average more than 95 hours per week, and sleep around 5 hours each night.
You can get off around 5-6 pm and not touch your laptop until Sunday. At 60 hours, you can have one full free day off and generally only have to do some light work on the other day. You might not get to choose exactly when that time is, but in general, this is survivable.
Investment banking analysts generally work 80-110 hour workweeks – expect to have very little free time outside of the office, especially during the first year on the job.
"In credit sales and trading, it's normal to work from 7.15am to 5.30pm, so 50-55 hours a week. Trading bonuses are still volatile than sales bonuses (P&Ls are less consistent than sales credits), so total compensation in trading can vary widely. In a good year I can get £700 an hour. In a bad year, it's a lot less."
The average annual salary of bankers was $76,200 as of May 2019, according to the BLS. Those in the top 10 percent can make over $132,680 annually. Bankers making the lowest wages earned below $32,560.
As the former vice president at a boutique banking firm, working on Saturdays was the norm — as were 70- to 100-hour workweeks. While he applauds JPMorgan Chase's new policy, he points out that “newer investment bankers will gladly come in [on the weekends], because they feel it's their responsibility.
investment bankers are not rich. They are paid well and in exchange new bankers work many hours (60 - 100 hours).
Unpredictable Demands
The most important words here are “service” and “huge clients.” Unlike a normal company that sells products, bankers have to respond to every single request clients have because they're not selling a product – they're selling their time and attention.
TD Bank, one of GOBankingRates' Best National Banks of 2022, boasts on its website that it has “the longest hours around” — and that's not just a marketing ploy. TD compares its hours with other competitors' branches in the metro areas it operates in.
As a banker, how much will I have to travel? Senior bankers tend to travel a lot, perhaps being out of the office on average 60% of the time. Most of the travel for senior bankers is spent marketing and pitching. Sometimes Analysts and Associates will be invited to go to pitches and sometimes not.
Most common car is probably a well appointed Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade. The fancier guys may go for like a G-Wagen/Range Rover/ Cayenne or like a 750 or S Class. Out of all the people I know that drive like Ferraris/ Lambos or something really flashy or exotic, most probably make less than 400K.
You can potentially work as a teller with a high school diploma or GED, but personal bankers typically need a college degree. 2 For investment banking, loan origination, or financial planning, you may need advanced degrees, designations, or licenses to land a job or get promoted.
Now while senior bankers generally prefer that the junior investment banking staff take their holidays around Christmas while it's quiet, they do need a few bodies to man the pit and take the bullet for any Christmas staffings.
As it turns out, investment bankers rate their career happiness 2.7 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 9% of careers.
The average working hours of an investment banker is reported to be around 60 to 80 hours a week. Getting any deals done in the investment banking world requires a lot of manpower since there are actually a lot of moving pieces in mere simple financial transactions.
Much like any other profit-driven business, banks charge money for the services and financial products they provide. The two main offerings banks profit from are interest on loans and fees associated with their services.
But now picture the investment banker: he sells companies for millions, hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars. Deals worth less than $1 billion might come with a 1% commission, while deals worth more than that will scale down to around 0.1%. But even 0.1% of $50 billion is… $50 million.
In fact, when you look at the numbers — and I really hate to say this — but bankers might actually be underpaid. Last year, employees at the same six banks made $159.1 billion in compensation, while the banks booked $81.8 billion in profits, a far wider margin than this year.
The highest paying jobs in retail banking usually belong to loan officers and major corporate executives, such as the chief financial officer (CFO) and chief risk officer (CRO).
Investment banking is one of Wall Street's most coveted roles. It is also one of the hardest. 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.
Once you've built some models, torn through financials, etc, the work isn't usually terribly challenging - the hours and fire-drill work flow at times is what makes it hard. Sterling Archer: Whether or not banking is "difficult" depends on the level that you are.
Commercial banker working conditions
Commercial bankers may also travel to visit clients or conduct solicitations. Their work hours are typically range from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. or an equivalent 10-hour shift. Commercial bankers may also work nights, weekends and overtime depending on the urgency of particular cases.