Are banking MDs happy with their life?
Are banking MDs happy with their life? Genuinely curious to know, since it's still quite a grind comparative to seniors in other industries.
Trending Content
| +33 | 2024 UK Election - Tories finished? | 21 | 1d | |
| +29 | ADHD ! | 14 | 2h | |
| +29 | Non-Competes Banned | 34 | 5h | |
| +29 | Being Christian in investment banking | 14 | 2d | |
| How do I become Sigma | 15 | 1d | ||
| +19 | Moelis has the cutest Analysts? | 4 | 2d | |
| +18 | Best NYC neighborhood for single 30M | 12 | 4d | |
| +16 | Underage intern, drinking? | 7 | 2d | |
| +13 | Secretive vs Universal Prestige? | 7 | 2d | |
| +10 | What are divorce rates in IB? | 13 | 4d |
Career Resources
At US BB APAC office and below are real-life cases for senior MDs I've met personally:
1. Based in APAC but family is in the US. Traveling pretty much all the time across the APAC region, rarely in NA. Guess only time he's back in the US is during Christmas/New Year.
2. Originally from EMEA, based in major APAC hub (SG/HK) as CEO for almost 10 years. Relocating back to EMEA next year. Wife is with him, not sure where the kids are.
3. Originally from EMEA, relocating to APAC soon. Wife will be with him but children stay in EMEA.
Honestly I wouldn't be happy with my life if I were located in a foreign country/region with a demanding and stressful job and being able to see my kids. It's too much of a sacrifice no matter the pay..
In this situation the kids must be in boarding school? What kind of childhood is it where you never see dad?
I don’t think they’re particularly happy, but there are some people who eat, sleep and breathe banking and seem to love it. Was at MS for three years and all the MDs in my group were divorced but two. Several left during my tenure there to go corporate or to a smaller shop where they’d get a better handle on work-life balance
If ur wired to crush it then you’ll tolerate the job. Eg, the absolute machines who just crank out work and don’t care as much about the kind of work they’re doing / doesn’t require it to be interesting. Or people who just love money so so much that they are willing to sacrifice all else.
Everyone else will find that they suffer. Most yearn for better WLB / actually interesting work and end up exiting into a more balanced role.
Those who stick it out to MD, by self selection, are usually one of two groups: 1) unhappy but just highly pain tolerant and pushing through, or 2) people who simply love money so much. In either case, not people that I usually find exceptionally interesting / fun to hang around (obv there are some but they are exceptions rather than the norm).
This is really well-put and I wonder why banking in general tends to attract these types. I feel like the intellectually nimble and the truly brainiac types tend to self-select into more research and/or quant-oriented roles. Banking seemingly only requires people to continuously crank out outputs without really having to understand the underlying logic of it, as long as the numbers/fees justify the long and painful process.
Because its a great path for those people. If you're wired with a win at all costs mindset then banking is perfect because all you need to do is grind (which is easy for them) whereas idea generation roles like research/quant/buyside etc requires a different type of work and work mindset I.e. the more you mindlessly grind doesn't guarantee better results.
Yup I think this is spot on. Figuring out how you’re wired is the name of the game. It is really just all about getting to know yourself deeply and finding the role where you are naturally wired to crush it. All the successful bankers I know are for sure wired a certain way, and all the ones that struggle are those types who tend to have more of an intellectual bent or like to work in an unstructured / creative way. They’d crush it working in an equities investing or startup role; banking just isn’t the right fit. Whenever I see these types going into banking I know it’s not gonna work out, and like clockwork, they always end up exiting into other things. I’m sure someone could distill it down into a set of key characteristics and heuristics, and if you don’t fit these, don’t go into banking. Schools these days do a stunningly poor job of teaching important things like this
See? Interns aren’t always dumb
All my MD’s seem to be EXTREMELY money and materialistically driven. Flexing their houses, watches, or cars. Personally doesn’t seem worth it to me
At my bank, not really. They make a ton and take pride in their work, but when you look at the bigger picture; their bills are huge, they don't see their wives/kids as much as they'd probably like to, and they're not in great physical shape given the various demands of the job. Not a great recipe for happiness.
the job never gets better, you only make more money
How would we know?? ask your MD?
I can't talk about many other people but I'm reasonably happy.
The hard hours get less the higher up the totem pole you go while the less onerous hours of always being "on" to a degree get more. The vast majority of my 11pm hours though are with a client as opposed to in front of a model. That makes me happy.
Helping a client realize their plans or helping them draft them is still rewarding. It's certainly the most rewarding (to me anyway) of the sell side roles.
The money is nice but your lifestyle just ratchets to match, I never feel like I'm getting ahead, just keeping up. It doesn't help that you end up hanging out with really wealthy people and it's easy to fall into a "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality which you can't win.
I'm a huge believer in having a spouse who is a partner, at least two of an intellectual, social or employment equal. My wife is really smart, has some great friends, likes many of the same things or types of things I do and has a real, significant job. She's been multi-national, reports to her c-suite, travels etc. She understands what my job is and what I need to do sometimes. I couldn't do it without her. Great mom as well.
nicest MD on WSO
Like everything else in life, probably depends on the person. Some people are wired for that lifestyle, others aren't. But the golden handcuffs are real, so I'm sure there are many bankers who are miserable but push through it. Same as there are probably lots of people in every industry who hate what they do.
The key is to understand that your job isn't meant to give meaning to your life, and especially not in something like finance which has almost no social utility. Do your job and go home and find happiness and joy in family and friends, or hobbies, or whatever other passion you have.
Banking high life is worth it and so is the status that comes with it (especially for dating)
I wondered a lot about this when I was still in IB. I think it really depends on the MD and their specific situation, role, comp, politics, etc.
There are some MDs that are clearly very happy, especially the relationship MDs. They have great hours, high comp, well respected (by both clients and juniors), good relationship with family, etc. Their clients love them and clients are friends, so work is fun for them and they like to socialize. They are usually most easy to work with and always in good mood.
There are also MDs that clearly hate their lives. Usually they are MDs stuck in a difficult situation (working and maintaining relationship with difficult clients), have trouble pulling in deals and meeting fee targets, poor people managers (hated and avoided by juniors), work super long hours for their age, etc.
It is really a case by case situation, especially at BBs. A lot of it comes down to luck and office politics.
No one’s happy kid, this is banking.
Ut animi facere autem. Sit magni modi rerum possimus soluta et.
Quisquam officiis iusto repudiandae maxime officiis cum id. Enim eius reprehenderit doloremque enim. Quia suscipit expedita id sit nihil. Reprehenderit et nihil non quidem.
Sint recusandae necessitatibus earum et voluptas. Rerum laborum aut id non. Tempora est ullam facere et beatae. Aliquid consequuntur vel neque totam iusto.
Rem ut blanditiis sint sed sit. Quia non odit doloremque voluptas maxime. Ipsam consequatur pariatur ex possimus ut.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...