Investment bankers are typically the highest-paid workers in the finance industry. Even younger employees receive high salaries. However, working in this field has its challenges. So yo🍰u may be wondering: Is a caree𒉰r in investment banking actually worth it?

Investment Banker Work Environment

An investment banker works with companies and government entities that raise capital, and bankers also provide advice regarding mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations. Traditionally, investment bankers work lo🌌ng hours, sometimes as many as 100 hours per week. Banke🥂rs are often under time pressure as many projects have tight deadlines.

Banking culture values and admires people who work long hours, and many firms have a culture of conspicuous work. This term refers to a corporate culture in wh🌳ich each employee notices the hours worked by everyone else, and this situation creates a competition to t🥀ake on more work at all costs.

Reliable bankers are given more work, and that leads to a work schedule that can become unmanageable. The work environment can take a physical and emotional toll on people who work in the indu﷽stry.

Changes in the Industry

In 2015, two young investment bankers died by suicide. Shortly before their deaths, both workers suffered from lack of sleep♒, and they reached out to family members to explain how𓂃 much they were working.

Those tragedies led many firms to change their 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:company policy on work hours. Some firms now enforce a protected weekend policy, which means that bankers cannot work on specific weekends. Nearly all companies now ask workers to say no to additional work if that work will result in too many hours at the office.

In addition, recent studies have shown that overwork leaves bankers less productive, which means that more hours are not generating the sa🃏me level of quality work. A common rule of thumb is🐭 that a banker should not work on more than two banking deals at one time, or the workload is not manageable.

Traits of Successful Bankers

Finance professionals should consider whether they have the personal traits needed to succeed in investment banking. In addition to the potential for long hours, a banker must be able to handle stress well and work on multiple deadlines at onc🏅e.

Investment bankers must be able to initiate projects on their own and manage time well. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Financial modeling a🌜nd the use of Micro꧟soft Excel are important, as well.

The Bottom Line

If you're not willing to make significant sacrifices for your job—or you're not primarily driven by money—investment banking may not be for you. But if you're still excited about the role despite its drawbacks, then put in the hours to understand everything you can investment banking. Your tenacity will likely pay off.