I worked as an M&A analyst in NYC in 2006/2007. 80 hours a week was standard, 100+ hours happened about once a month or so. I don’t think I ever worked a week less than 60 hours. And I can honestly say very little of this time was spent “sitting around”, though hours upon hours of mindless (once you get the hang of them) comps or pre-paids were not uncommon. Although I learned a lot on the job and made good $, overall, it was a miserable experience. The complete lack of work-life balance is unsustainable in the long term.
I’ve had a few crazy engagements that required burning the midnight oil. A lot of that time was spent putting out fires and on dumb shit like formatting/re-formatting or my favorite, “wordsmithing.” If there was a sense of value (e.g,. going over our model after a press release hit the wires), I could understand, but deciding whether to use blue font or red font seems so trivial.
Ay, I was working 80 hr weeks pretty regularly when I started working at Lehman after college in M&A/IB. After a year, I was burned out. Weekends were shot, tired of going to sleep at 1-2 am abd being at the office by 630-7 and moved to investment management. Four years later I went to PwC and started my MBA. Went to Corporate after that at PEP so my life changed, as did the work hours. I’m no stranger to 50-60 now at AIG
Try working for a valuation firm during busy season. 7 days a week, hours from 8am-12am. Summers are nice though. Off Fridays.
I hope you made more than minimum wage.
I know plenty of co-workers that push 80+ hours a week. If you can’t, then you won’t get those jobs. Simple as that.
What jobs are those? Titles, fields, job descriptions?
Do they do it 365 days a year or seasonally (like tax season for tax pros)?
Equity Research at my last job, associates
Of course, there’s only 8760 hours in a year.
I have met a 26 year old Merryl Lynch inverstement banker working in Hong Kong (he was Indian) who said he worked 100 hours a week without taking annual leave for 3 years. And he went to night clubs after work and partied hard.
In the laid-back down under I have seen junior graduates at the Big 4 accounting firms working 65 hours a week, and graduate lawyers working until 10pm every day.
Two possibilities:
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Exaggeration: 26 year old men have been known to do this sometimes, particularly when it might impress a woman.
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Drugs, lots of drugs.
^ 1) It was possible. I was 25. and he bought me dinner.
- Also possible. He had very dark circles under his eyes. He seemed super energetic while in Australia, doing all those extreme sports kind things.
The young IB guys are generally either extremely driven or on drugs. Many times both.
He will divorce 2 times before 40 and then have a stroke somewhere
I currently work at a PE firm. My first year year will be coming to a completion next month. Last year, I didn’t get to take any of the winter holidays (Christmas, New Years). I don’t really celebrate Christmas, and not much of a drinker, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. For the past year I have been putting in 80+ hours a week, every week.
I am sort of a work nerd. I actually enjoy modeling, and digging through a bank debt covenant handbook. Other associates here hate it, and constantly complain about the work-life balance. A few of them are married. I am not, and maybe my mindset will change when I do get married, but for now I enjoy all of the learning, and everyone depending on me. It does make me feel important.
Not every hour spent here is spent working on a specific project. I would say 20% of it, is spent waiting. For example, right now I am working on a deal, very close to the LOI being signed by the seller. It was supposed to be signed yesterday, but the seller just got up and went to the U.S Open (I don’t follow tennis, noy sure about the specific event). So now I am here waiting. Maybe he will sign in later this evening, and I’ll have to have a model ready by the morning for the MD to review, maybe he won’t. I have no clue.
I would say another 20% is spent on wild goose-chases. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or worse got drunk, sends you an e mail asking for MLP comps. Midway through the project they don’t remember telling you to do it, or just tell you to drop it. So point being, not every moment is spent “working”.
All that being said, I have absolutely no social life. Yes go ahead point and laugh. I haven’t been on a date in forever. I think maybe the last time was in L-school, to a school event.
I assume the money must be good? At least later in the career.
I made the same money as starter MBAs (judging by salaries posted in AF), but after 16 years in software I am sure I am significantly behind my peers in finance.
IT is a bowl of rice of youth - a Chinese saying
Miserable law student, it seems that you choose working over dating at this stage of life and there’s nothing wrong with it.
"IT is a bowl of rice of youth - a Chinese saying "
Information technology is a bowl of rice of youth?
What is “IT”?
Information Technology, computing related professions
That makes no sense to me. What does it mean?
“Information technology is a bowl of rice of youth?”
Young people live for IT just as everyone lives for a rice bowl (food)?
IT is a young man’s game?