Young Money summary

When we think of Wall Street we think of finance, right? Of course, but it’s not essential to have a background in finance in order to work there.

All Wall Street firms want to hire students from the best schools – period.

All right, so you’ve gotten yourself an enviable spot on Wall Street. Or so you thought. Now let’s see exactly what that entails.

A first year analyst on Wall Street will typically work themselves to the bone. They are known to clock up 100 hours of work a week, meaning 16-hour weekdays and ten hours on Saturdays and Sundays. If you add commuting times on top of this, you wouldn’t be the only one wondering how they even find time to sleep.

When you’re a Wall Street analyst subjected to massive daily pressure while putting in 100 hours a week, the consequences are serious.

What usually ends up happening is that most young analysts barely have a personal life.

During the protests after the 2007 market crash, young analysts could relate far better to the protesters than the older, more seasoned Wall Street professionals.

Occupy Wall Street was a movement against everything Wall Street stood for, including the insatiable and ruthless pursuit of power and money.

So far we’ve focused on first-year Wall Street analysts. But what happens to those who decide to stay on after 12 months? Working on Wall Street starts to have a major impact on the personalities of the people who work there.

After the first year, most analysts finally get to enjoy some spare time and freedom. Many of them start seeking out more easygoing positions, such as jobs in private equity or hedge funds.

If you’re weighing up the pros and cons of working on Wall Street, first make sure you consider what alternatives are available.

Being on Wall Street for two years might seem like the path of least resistance for some, but it’s unlikely to be a route that will make you happy.

The 2007 financial crisis had a massive impact on Wall Street and on the desires of graduates to sign up.

A number of regulations were introduced for financial institutions, and there was a drastic fall in profits. This in turn led to a shake up involving layoffs and diminished bonuses.