Banking Boom
Working on Wall Street is one of the most lucrative careers in the world, and it is one that has quite a reputation whether good or bad. People often have an idea of what those who work there are like, whether it’s smart, snobby, wealthy, or all the above, one thing that is undeniable and shared among all workers in the long hours that are demanded by many of the firms. One of the jobs, called investment banking, is a career path many ambitious college graduates take, and the hours can range from 80 to 120 hours a week.
As entry-level analysts most recent graduates spend their day building experience, working power points and excel, and other very tedious jobs that require focus and resilience. For this many hours, the annual salary started at about $85K, but recently banks have moved it up to a baseline of six figures to better compensate for the grueling hours asked of employees.
This comes as banks not only realized they need to keep employees happier but as they needed to compete with one another to recruit and retain juniors. One example of this Bank of America who hiked its analyst salaries by $10k and its associate and vice presidents’ salaries by $25k – causing other banks to follow in their footsteps.
Many feel the salary boosts were justified and made sense to compensate workers for such long hours, while others felt the change was only another step to further the wealth gap in the US and the interest of those on Wall Street. What do you think of the salary boost? And it is needed?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
