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Work Experience Comparison
A qualitative comparison of factors between the two career paths.
Primary Sources
I quit investment banking and now run a startup. I work just as much ...
I quit investment banking and now run a startup. I work just as much, but the hours feel totally different. As told to Alice Tecotzky You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Meng said his relationship with long working hours has transformed. Andrew Meng 2026-04-28T09:01:01.318Z Andrew Meng, 29, left a career in investment banking to be a founder. He owns his time and schedule now, but there are tradeoffs to the flexibility. Meng said that he has very different types of Saturday morning anxiety as a banker and a founder. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andrew Meng, 29, who worked in investment banking at Wells Fargo until January 2021 and now runs a startup, Yorby AI. Business Insider has confirmed his previous employment at Wells Fargo. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. My dad is a professor of engineering, my mom is a developer, and both of my older siblings have engineering degrees — so I was surprised when the engineering internships I had in college felt boring.I decided to look at other fields the summer after my junior year, and eventually settled on investment banking, a mysterious black box at the time.I was late to recruiting and didn't study finance, but I landed an internship. After graduating in 2019, I got a job at Wells Fargo as an investment banker for their technology, media, and telecommunications group in San Francisco.I knew exactly how much I was workingSomething felt off during my very first week at Wells Fargo. I couldn't pinpoint what it was, but I just wasn't excited about the job. It wasn't specific to the firm. It was about banking itself. My hours were pretty typical during those first few months, landing between 60 and 100 per week. In my experience, the hours came in peaks and troughs, only getting super bad when I was working on a live deal, meaning an active transaction like an IPO or merger. I'd spend a lot of time waiting for comments from my managers, which could come late at night.There were definitely times when I had to cancel plans at the last minute because of work. I often didn't know what my weekend would look like until Friday night — and even then, I couldn't always predict, because I could get an unexpected email on Saturday or Sunday. I'd constantly be checking my corporate phone.I had legitimate PTOThat being said, I had legitimate PTO when I worked in investment banking, especially if I wasn't worki...
Investment Banking Career Path: Roles, Salaries & Promotions (2026)
When it comes to the investment banking career path, there’s a fitting analogy: a fraternity house.Just like a fraternity, investment banking offers a clear hierarchy, certain rituals you must complete, and benefits and added responsibilities at each level.And, as with a fraternity – or the mafia – you may also run into serious problems if you stay “in the business” for too long.In this article, we’ll cover the advantages and disadvantages of the investment banking career path, including the work, hierarchy, promotions, lifestyle, hours, salaries, and exit opportunities at each level.But let’s start with the basics before we move fully into the frat house:Table Of ContentsWhat Do Investment Bankers Do?Why A Career In Investment Banking?Investment Banking Career RequirementsThe Investment Banking Career PathInvestment Banking Analyst Job DescriptionInvestment Banking Associate Job DescriptionInvestment Banking Vice President (VP) Job DescriptionWhy is Everyone at a Bank a Vice President?Investment Banking Director Job DescriptionInvestment Banking Managing Director (MD) Job DescriptionCareers Beyond the MD Level: Group Head, COO, CEO And MoreInvestment Banking Career Pros and ConsBenefits / AdvantagesDrawbacks / DisadvantagesFor Further LearningWhat Do Investment Bankers Do?Investment bankers advise companies on large, corporate-level transactions such as mergers and acquisitions and debt and equity issuances.“Advise companies” means “Work with management teams to market and sell companies, find potential targets to acquire, and make deals go through; or recommend the best terms and timing for a capital raise and then market that debt or equity issuance to investors.”The role is part advice, part sales and marketing, and part negotiation and deal-making – on a grand scale.For more, please see our articles on mergers and acquisitions, pitch books, how you win deals as a Managing Director, and our investment banking industry overview.Why A Career In Investment Banking?Many people are drawn to the investment banking career path for the money: even at the mid-levels, you’ll be in the top 1% of income earners in most states and countries.Others are attracted by the excitement of deals and high-stakes negotiations with important people such as CEOs and Board Chairs; some are fascinated by deal mechanics as well.And still others are attracted to investment banking careers because of the exit opportunities, particularly the ones available to junior bankers such as ...
7 ways investment banks are improving junior banker retention (2026)
TL;DR 85% of analysts are reportedly leaving investment banks within their first two years. Many of the top investment banks are responding by introducing initiatives to attract and retain top young talent. Will improving work-life balance, introducing employee mental health support initiatives, or investing in technology be key to achieving this?
10 Years as a Founder — Lesson #3: You need capital for your startup ...
A founder can technically win — sell their company — and walk away with far less than they expected because of how the capital stack was structured. The investors in that panel?
