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Carolina
Student
Jamesville, New York
1
Question
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How did you manage through the long hours of being an analyst? #Spring25
I'm majoring in finance next year and I have been looking into careers, especially investment banking, but the difficulty and long hours have made me hesitate on wether it would be a good idea. For anyone that has been able to break into this career and started as an analyst how were you able to manage the 80-100 hour work week? Is there a way to avoid working that much? and was the time you put in during those early years to get to the higher paying investment banking jobs worth it? #Spring25
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Kevin Yang
Impact Investing
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San Francisco, California
Updated
Kevin’s Answer
Hi Carolina,
Excellent question! I've been waiting for someone to ask this.
I started the first two years of my career as an Analyst in Investment Banking in NYC, and in the five years since then, I've frequently flipped back and forth on whether the grueling hours / workload have been worth it or not.
Actual Hours:
The 80-100 hour workweek you quoted I would say is inflated / an overshot of the reality on the job (even though that's what people said to me when I was first exploring the space). 80 hour workweek is what you should be mentally prepped for. I was a bit skeptical that everyone was pulling 80 hours and so I actually logged my hours daily for two years and I came out to about 76 hours/week. I was in a industry group that had more difficult hours, and I (along with one other Analyst) were the ones that were always the most heavily staffed on live deals -- all to say that it seemed my peers must've averaged closer to 70 hours.
So is Investment Banking a good career given the difficulty and long hours?
Reasons for Yes:
-- You learn a lot and you are working with a lot of other very smart individuals. I saw a lot of unique transactions from sell-side M&A (mergers and acquisitions), buy-side M&A, debt financings, corporate restructurings, shareholder defense, etc. And you're given a lot of responsibility (flipside: workload) that puts you into positions coordinating with C-suite executives of companies at an Analyst level that you wouldn't have in other career paths. And you do get paid handsomely (even as an Analyst, though it certainly ramps up at Associate and above). It also allows you to flexibly pivot to many other fields if you don't want to stay in investment banking (i.e., exit options -- I went to private equity and then venture capital following my IB years).
Reasons for No:
-- The hours isn't what makes the job so demanding, but rather it's the unpredictability of those hours. What I mean by this is that there have been numerous times I'm about to meetup with friends at brunch on Saturday morning only to be called into the office unexpectedly and have my entire weekend wrecked for a pitch that suddenly came up on the calendar for Monday. Investment banking is a client-serving business, and clients can ask for things or switch decisions at any time (and senior managing directors who are paid and evaluated in performance in large part by transactions closing are pretty happy to oblige on signing an Analyst up to those requests). I'll be completely transparent here -- investment banking absolutely tanked my mental health. Like obliterated it by the end of two years (my physical health wasn't great either -- I gained 20 lbs). This was not an uncommon experience amongst my peers.
Note that the experience one has can also vary quite a bit depending on bank, group, and which teams/people you are working with (i.e., some are more willing to teach than others, some teams are more willing to 'push back' against overtly ridiculous requests and protect your time).
What I would do differently / is there a way to avoid working that much?
-- You have to be an advocate for yourself. Assignments are allocated by a staffer (usually an Associate or VP). They try their best to balance but they are working their on IB job too. I did not do a great job at this -- I thought I had to say yes to anything that I was asked by the company. That is not the case, and although tough, it's really important that I learned to stick up for myself. You can push back (moreso in your second year, out the gate is not a great look) and say what claims already exist on your time and how it isn't practical for you to be the first person named for the project.
-- Be a "B" Analyst, not an "A" Analyst. This is a weird one, especially for high achieving individuals who are able to break into investment banking. I couldn't wrap my head around it when those above me first shared it -- but the logic is that if you really excel -- good work is rewarded with more work. People are going to want you on their team -- which is a bit of a dual edged sword.
-- Find the bank, group, and teams/people that prioritize wellbeing (this is very much relative, and not absolute, in investment banking) and balance to the extent they're able to. There are pockets out there. This is a silly rule of thumb, but also quite useful -- the more divorces the senior people of a team have -- is a pretty bad sign (as they are spending time working and not with their family). Unfortunately I was often staffed with a senior managing director who had 4 divorces.
So the ultimately answer of whether it's worth it or not -- it depends on what's important to you and where you want to be in the future. Reflect and keep learning more by talking to others who have gone down the investment banking route.
Cheers to your professional journey ahead! Don't hesitate to follow-up with any additional questions / clarifications.
Best,
Kevin
Excellent question! I've been waiting for someone to ask this.
I started the first two years of my career as an Analyst in Investment Banking in NYC, and in the five years since then, I've frequently flipped back and forth on whether the grueling hours / workload have been worth it or not.
Actual Hours:
The 80-100 hour workweek you quoted I would say is inflated / an overshot of the reality on the job (even though that's what people said to me when I was first exploring the space). 80 hour workweek is what you should be mentally prepped for. I was a bit skeptical that everyone was pulling 80 hours and so I actually logged my hours daily for two years and I came out to about 76 hours/week. I was in a industry group that had more difficult hours, and I (along with one other Analyst) were the ones that were always the most heavily staffed on live deals -- all to say that it seemed my peers must've averaged closer to 70 hours.
So is Investment Banking a good career given the difficulty and long hours?
Reasons for Yes:
-- You learn a lot and you are working with a lot of other very smart individuals. I saw a lot of unique transactions from sell-side M&A (mergers and acquisitions), buy-side M&A, debt financings, corporate restructurings, shareholder defense, etc. And you're given a lot of responsibility (flipside: workload) that puts you into positions coordinating with C-suite executives of companies at an Analyst level that you wouldn't have in other career paths. And you do get paid handsomely (even as an Analyst, though it certainly ramps up at Associate and above). It also allows you to flexibly pivot to many other fields if you don't want to stay in investment banking (i.e., exit options -- I went to private equity and then venture capital following my IB years).
Reasons for No:
-- The hours isn't what makes the job so demanding, but rather it's the unpredictability of those hours. What I mean by this is that there have been numerous times I'm about to meetup with friends at brunch on Saturday morning only to be called into the office unexpectedly and have my entire weekend wrecked for a pitch that suddenly came up on the calendar for Monday. Investment banking is a client-serving business, and clients can ask for things or switch decisions at any time (and senior managing directors who are paid and evaluated in performance in large part by transactions closing are pretty happy to oblige on signing an Analyst up to those requests). I'll be completely transparent here -- investment banking absolutely tanked my mental health. Like obliterated it by the end of two years (my physical health wasn't great either -- I gained 20 lbs). This was not an uncommon experience amongst my peers.
Note that the experience one has can also vary quite a bit depending on bank, group, and which teams/people you are working with (i.e., some are more willing to teach than others, some teams are more willing to 'push back' against overtly ridiculous requests and protect your time).
What I would do differently / is there a way to avoid working that much?
-- You have to be an advocate for yourself. Assignments are allocated by a staffer (usually an Associate or VP). They try their best to balance but they are working their on IB job too. I did not do a great job at this -- I thought I had to say yes to anything that I was asked by the company. That is not the case, and although tough, it's really important that I learned to stick up for myself. You can push back (moreso in your second year, out the gate is not a great look) and say what claims already exist on your time and how it isn't practical for you to be the first person named for the project.
-- Be a "B" Analyst, not an "A" Analyst. This is a weird one, especially for high achieving individuals who are able to break into investment banking. I couldn't wrap my head around it when those above me first shared it -- but the logic is that if you really excel -- good work is rewarded with more work. People are going to want you on their team -- which is a bit of a dual edged sword.
-- Find the bank, group, and teams/people that prioritize wellbeing (this is very much relative, and not absolute, in investment banking) and balance to the extent they're able to. There are pockets out there. This is a silly rule of thumb, but also quite useful -- the more divorces the senior people of a team have -- is a pretty bad sign (as they are spending time working and not with their family). Unfortunately I was often staffed with a senior managing director who had 4 divorces.
So the ultimately answer of whether it's worth it or not -- it depends on what's important to you and where you want to be in the future. Reflect and keep learning more by talking to others who have gone down the investment banking route.
Cheers to your professional journey ahead! Don't hesitate to follow-up with any additional questions / clarifications.
Best,
Kevin