Are investment bankers happy? - CareerExplorer (2024)

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.

5 Star

8%

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

3 Star

28%

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? - CareerExplorer (2024)

FAQs

Are investment bankers happy? - CareerExplorer? ›

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.

Can you be happy as an investment banker? ›

I was recently asked if most investment bankers are actually happy. 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.

What percent of investment bankers are happy? ›

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.

What personality type do investment bankers have? ›

Many investment bankers are Type A personalities, which means they are ambitious and driven.

Is investment banking a declining career? ›

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.

Is investment banking a high stress job? ›

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.

Do investment bankers have a good life? ›

An investment banker's life is considered to have long working hours, working on weekends, a lot of hard work, and little sleep.

Can investment bankers make 500K? ›

Ways to make a lot of money in this world

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).

Why are investment bankers so rich? ›

Investment bankers make money through the fees charged to their clients. As discussed above, this includes underwriting fees for arranging the sale of securities and advisory fees for providing strategic guidance.

Is it hard to date an investment banker? ›

Is It Even Possible to Date an Investment Banker? The good news is that, while most definitely more difficult, it's still quite possible to both date a banker and date as a banker. Plenty of people do it and plenty of people have found their lifelong partners while working as bankers. There will be rough patches.

Do investment bankers make 7 figures? ›

Investment Banking Managing Director Salary + Bonus: Base salaries are in the mid-six-figure range, with total compensation in the high six figures to low seven figures. An MD doing decently should earn between $1 and $3 million per year, and sometimes a low multiple of that (as of 2022).

What is the mentality of an investment banker? ›

Investment bankers tend to be predominantly enterprising individuals, which means that they are usually quite natural leaders who thrive at influencing and persuading others. They also tend to be conventional, meaning that they are usually detail-oriented and organized, and like working in a structured environment.

Can an introvert be an investment banker? ›

Despite the many successful introverted professionals in investment banking, there are still misconceptions about their abilities to network. Many assume that introverts are not as outgoing or personable as extroverts and may overlook them for promotions or leadership positions.

What is the life of an investment banker? ›

The position requires bankers to be competent communicators with the ability to manage their schedules effectively. In a typical workday, an investment banker may dedicate the morning to financial research, the afternoon to meetings with clients and colleagues and the evening to the creation of pitch books.

Are consulting hours as bad as IB? ›

Investment bankers usually earn more annually than consultants. However, while investment bankers typically earn more than consultants, it is worth remembering that bankers have much longer work hours per week (100 hours per week vs 80 hours per week).

What are the odds of getting an investment banking job? ›

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%.

What are the cons of being an investment banker? ›

Even with education, experience, and enthusiasm, investment banking might not be for you. Investment bankers work long hours and often earn a high income. Lack of work-life balance is one reason to avoid becoming an investment banker. Investment bankers must also be able to manage high-pressure situations.

Can an investment banker be a millionaire? ›

It is fairly common for front-office investment bankers to be earning over US$1m after 8 years in the industry. But it caps out at around US$20m, which is how much a top-performing investment banking CEO gets.

What are the odds of becoming an investment banker? ›

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%.

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