1. How many hours do investment bankers work a day? 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.
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. Investment banking analysts may work up to 100 hours per week at some firms.
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. (Yes, that includes most weekends!)
Investment bankers generally get up at 8 or 9 a.m. First thing they would do is to check their emails and see if they need to call into work early and answer other important emails. They have to be in their office promptly around 10 a.m.
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.
Right out of college, investment bankers are not rich. They are paid well and in exchange new bankers work many hours (60 - 100 hours).
When it comes to compensation, banking has earned a well-deserved reputation for paying better than most other corporate jobs. Analysts with 0-3 years of experience make anything from USD 80,000 to USD 200,000.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A motivated personal banker can make more than $50,000 in total compensation their first year, and more than that after establishing a broad customer base. However, Wall Street's six-figure incomes typically elude personal bankers. The big advantage personal bankers maintain over the Wall Street crowd is hours.
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.
Most studies showed that mental health problems had increased in the banking sector, and that they were stress-related. Examples began with anxiety and depression, carried on through maladaptive behaviors, and ended in job burnout.
Careers at these banks tend to be very stable, longstanding jobs, with close relationships among the local residents and customers. Banks can also be huge multi-national financial institutions that handle millions of transactions daily.
The banking sector is certainly one of the hottest ones in India when it comes to career and jobs. This is because millions of graduates across the country seek jobs in public and private sector banks for good salary and job security.
Interestingly, even the top number in the chart—$3,900,000—wouldn't even qualify someone to be considered UHNW (Ultra High Net Worth, or the 0.1%), which requires a total net worth of over $25 million, or according to the chart above, more than 10 times the age/income number from Stanley's wealth formula for most ...
Bank of America, Citibank, Union Bank, and HSBC, among others, have created accounts that come with special perquisites for the ultra-rich, such as personal bankers, waived fees, and the option of placing trades. The ultra rich are considered to be those with more than $30 million in assets.
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.
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.
Junior investment bankers eventually participate in most aspects of investment banking, including the planning, structuring, and execution of large financial transactions. With good performance, junior bankers can move into senior positions overseeing transactions from start to finish.