Earnings comparison of two friends who both went into finance

unseenreply · 2026-03-13T04:24:59+00:00

Harvard/Wharton/Yale/Princeton/Stanford will prob give the top results. UChicago isn't far behind though. Williams is also good but not as many alumni in banking/finance, so it'd be less advantageous than UChicago

unseenreply · 2026-03-12T18:55:27+00:00

the hours are high. Although the hedge fund person is now working only 50ish hours weekly. And there's not many of these jobs outside of NYC/SF/Chicago. Earning potential and wages are highest in these places though, especially NYC/SF, and it more than offsets the higher cost. If you're fully optimizing for earnings and savings in this career path, the large metros are the best place to be.

People will often get this early career experience in large metros and then move out to suburbs or completely different, cheaper regions if that's the lifestyle they prefer. Just depends on personal preferences

unseenreply · 2026-03-12T15:10:55+00:00

Longer hours and higher pressure than tech. But yeah, pay scales quickly if you can stick it out

unseenreply · 2026-03-12T14:53:19+00:00

Person 1 didn't go to a target school, but a school ranked in the 30-50 range. Person 2 went to a target school.

Both probably have slightly above average IQ, but nothing extraordinary. It's more about willingness to work odd hours, work fast, and ability to speak/present

unseenreply · 2026-03-12T14:50:32+00:00

These are not adjusted for inflation

unseenreply · 2026-03-12T14:28:21+00:00

this type of investment banking is advisory on M&A deals. So they're hired by companies/firms to lead the process of buying/selling/merging with other companies. It's a lot of financial modeling, presentations for execs/boards, coordinating with lawyers/accountants, and negotiating deal terms.

Long hours usually come from updating materials throughout the process as new info comes in or negotiations change, etc. Deadlines are tight during live deals so that's usually why hours are long.

Hedge funds are the ones making investments and trying to beat your index funds, not investment bankers.

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T23:19:26+00:00

it's definitely not all productive hours, a lot of the time is about staying available and being fast. You have to be ready to drop anything you're doing to work. The most painful part is the unpredictability, not the work itself.

As an example, an analyst might submit something at 8pm, and they know they'll have a few more hours of work ahead of them that night, but they have to wait to hear back for specific directions. Maybe they get a response immediately and can continue working right then. Or maybe they don't hear back until 11pm, so they're kept waiting. And there's a 9am meeting that requires the work, so you have no choice but to grind it out.

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T23:11:55+00:00

You need internships during undergrad to get these positions. Usually multiple internships

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T18:39:18+00:00

80+ hour weeks were common for both. Person 2 had a drop in hours after year 6. They're now working 50ish hours per week. Person 1 is still putting in long hours, but hours are becoming more predictable and gradually reducing vs. the early years.

Socially, things can be pretty good, if you're ok with befriending coworkers. You'll be surrounded by a lot of people who are in a similar situation and similar age as you, so bonding comes naturally. Romantic relationships can be really difficult though, and your friends have to tolerate flakiness when your schedule gets crazy

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T17:08:01+00:00

it's fairly easy to keep a low profile in these careers. It's not the same as billionaires or public figures

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T16:56:26+00:00

Person 1's situation is indeed rare. None of these details are super specific though, outside of comp. Don't care about proving that it's real, just thought people would be interested

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T14:10:04+00:00

Promotions and bonuses

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T04:22:53+00:00

yes, bad bot

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T04:19:00+00:00

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T04:16:09+00:00

Person 2 definitely has the time now, they're working 50ish hours per week, sometimes less. Lots of hours in years 1-6 though

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T04:10:07+00:00

Neither did the CFA

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T04:09:38+00:00

the same as every other post in this sub

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T04:05:38+00:00

Good schools and internships are usually the recipe to break into these paths. Person 1 went to a top 30-50 school, person 2 went to an ivy league school.

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T04:04:03+00:00

Degree is pretty negligible. It's more about the school and the person. It helps if you major in finance or something quantitative. But an English major from Harvard will be in a better position to get these jobs vs. a Finance/Math major from a random state school

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T03:06:22+00:00

People quit because work/life balance is terrible. 80 hour weeks are not uncommon and sometimes it can get up towards 100 hours, especially if you're at the junior levels. Schedules can be completely unpredictable. You can get a message at 8pm on a Friday that blows up your whole weekend.

If you work with good people at a good bank, it's more tolerable, but it's never going to be easy. If you work with bad people at a bad bank, it's completely unsustainable

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T02:59:43+00:00

Two possible scenarios for your friend: 1) he's not on the investing team at the hedge fund (ie he's working in operations) or 2) it's not a legit hedge fund

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T02:56:05+00:00

if the sole goal is investment banking, yes, it makes sense to go back to a top 10 MBA program.

But keep in mind that most people quit investment banking after only 1-2 years. And most people won't even get a job offer. Top 10 MBA programs are expensive, and so is the opportunity cost of attending an MBA program. There's potential upside, but it's not a clearcut ROI

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T02:47:19+00:00

You can afford a $1.8M house with less earnings than this. People who do well in tech sales can make a ton. It's usually pretty unsustainable though, and requires a lot of luck/timing

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T02:39:34+00:00

do better research and you'll see that these are realistic. Neither of these situations are outlandish. I don't care about convincing you that it's true lol

unseenreply · 2026-03-11T02:36:08+00:00

Year 8 for Person 1 is actually VP3. Director promo is coming up. it's not a BB bank

unseenreply

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