Investment bankers are one of the least happy careers in the United States.
At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. 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.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy investment bankers are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:
Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers
Career
Satisfaction
Avg Salary
Financial analyst
2.7
$92k
Compliance manager
2.7
$125k
Financial advisor
2.7
$94k
Cost estimator
2.7
$65k
Revenue agent
2.7
$57k
Investment banker
2.7
$73k
Tax preparer
2.7
$46k
Credit counselor
2.6
$48k
Credit analyst
2.6
$77k
Customs broker
2.6
$75k
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
Salary: Are investment bankers happy with their salary?
Meaning: Do investment bankers find their jobs meaningful?
Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as investment bankers?
Work environment: How enjoyable are investment banker’s work environments?
Skills utilization: Are investment bankers making the best use of their abilities?
Are investment bankers happy with their salary?
Investment bankers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.5/5. The majority of investment bankers are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked investment bankers how fairly compensated they are for their work. Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
652 investment bankers
5 Star
29%
29% of investment bankers rated their compensation 5 stars
4 Star
27%
27% of investment bankers rated their compensation 4 stars
3 Star
20%
20% of investment bankers rated their compensation 3 stars
2 Star
15%
15% of investment bankers rated their compensation 2 stars
1 Star
10%
10% of investment bankers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do investment bankers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, investment bankers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.4/5. The majority of investment bankers struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.
We asked investment bankers how meaningful they found their work. Their response was:
8% of investment bankers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
4 Star
13%
13% of investment bankers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
3 Star
20%
20% of investment bankers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
2 Star
26%
26% of investment bankers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
1 Star
33%
33% of investment bankers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as investment bankers?
Investment bankers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.4/5. The majority of investment bankers don’t see personality fit as a hinderence in their career.
We asked investment bankers how well their personalities fit into their careers. Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
723 investment bankers
5 Star
23%
23% of investment bankers rated their career fit 5 stars
4 Star
28%
28% of investment bankers rated their career fit 4 stars
28% of investment bankers rated their career fit 3 stars
2 Star
13%
13% of investment bankers rated their career fit 2 stars
1 Star
9%
9% of investment bankers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is an investment banker’s work environment?
As a whole, investment bankers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.1/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.
We asked investment bankers how much they enjoyed their work environment. Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
716 investment bankers
5 Star
15%
15% of investment bankers rated their work environment 5 stars
4 Star
27%
27% of investment bankers rated their work environment 4 stars
3 Star
26%
26% of investment bankers rated their work environment 3 stars
2 Star
17%
17% of investment bankers rated their work environment 2 stars
1 Star
15%
15% of investment bankers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are investment bankers making the best use of their abilities?
Former investment bankers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.9/5. Investment bankers tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.
We asked investment bankers how well their abilities were used in their careers. Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
718 investment bankers
5 Star
12%
12% of investment bankers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
4 Star
24%
24% of investment bankers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
3 Star
25%
25% of investment bankers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
2 Star
23%
23% of investment bankers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
1 Star
17%
17% of investment bankers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars
Are investment bankers happy about their jobs? According to the careerexplorer report bankers rate their career happiness 2.7 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 9% of careers.
No, investment bankers are not happy for the most part. In fact, investment bankers rate their career happiness 2.7 out of 5 stars, which puts them in the bottom 9% of careers, according to a 2021 U.S. News study.
A pretty good question because for many it's a dream job. From my experience - and I spent 8 years in the industry, many of my friends are investment bankers - most are indeed deeply unhappy. Saying that, many will be happy once they're out. Most dislike their job, it's a grind, it's hard work, it's soulless.
Investment banking is an exciting and lucrative career, but it isn't right for everyone. You may have a desire to earn over $100,000 a year as a first-year analyst in New York City, but you need to remember that investment banking is not just a high-paying job, but is also a high-stakes, high-pressure job.
The investment banking industry has long been criticized for its grueling work culture, with junior bankers often feeling pressured to work over 100 hours per week to impress managers and advance their careers.
Banks don't break out investment banker headcount specifically, but data released last week by research firm Coalition, suggests investment banker headcount across the industry fell only 4% year-on-year in the first half, which is when many of the cuts at Goldman and Morgan Stanley took place.
Sure, anybody can make a good living being a doctor or a lawyer or an investment banker where you can make ~$200-500K per year a few years after you finish with your studies, but you hit a ceiling very quickly unless you start your own practice (aka start your own business).
Investment banking is one of Wall Street's most coveted roles. It is also one of the hardest. 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.
Age Range: It's nearly impossible to reach this level before your early 30's, so we'll say 35-50 for the range. Few MDs continue working until the official retirement age (65-70); it's a stressful, high-pressure job, and past a certain net worth, it's just not worth it.
Simmerman said that while many job opportunities are available in the investment banking field for bachelor's degree holders, some firms may require a master's degree in finance or a Master of Business Administration (MBA) — even for entry-level positions.
The lucrative and fast-paced career of an investment banker is a highly competitive one. For instance, in a recent year, 236,000 applicants competed for roughly 3,500 internships at Goldman Sachs. This is common across the industry where acceptance rates for programs are typically less than 2%.
Getting into an investment bank is, with a lot of understatement, pretty tough. Get Morning Coffee ☕ in your inbox. Sign up here. More accurately, it'll be the toughest thing you ever do.
In the high-stakes and fast-paced world of finance, the work-life balance of Investment Bankers often teeters on a fine line. Known for their grueling hours and the high-pressure environment of financial markets, Investment Bankers are frequently at the mercy of market fluctuations and client demands.
1. Investment Banker. Roles in investing banking are highly sought after. For investment bankers, it's often a higher competition to land a role in one of the largest firms.
How Many Hours do Investment Bankers Work? Investment bankers work notoriously long hours, with the typical work week filling in 60-80 hours per week, and the occasional high-intensity work week that can push a banker to 100+ hours.
At the heart of an investment banker's earning potential lies their involvement in high-value deals and transactions. These professionals facilitate mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs for corporations, reaping substantial fees in the process.
That said, investment banking is a highly competitive field. Because the pay is so high and the job is so prestigious, particularly in cities such as New York, applicants far outnumber job openings every year.
Introduction: My name is Frankie Dare, I am a funny, beautiful, proud, fair, pleasant, cheerful, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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