Investment Banking Hours and Lifestyle: What a Junior Banker’s Week Really Looks Like

Investment banking hours are among the longest in professional work. Junior bankers, analysts and associates, commonly work somewhere between 70 and 100 hours a week at large banks, with the heaviest weeks during live deals and the lightest during quiet periods. Hours vary a lot by bank, group, region and deal flow, and they generally become more predictable at more senior levels, although senior bankers trade long hours for travel, client pressure and responsibility for winning business. In recent years several banks have introduced protected weekends and other guidelines for junior staff, but long, unpredictable hours remain a core part of the job.

This guide gives a realistic picture for students and career changers deciding whether banking is right for them, and for new analysts preparing for their first year. It explains typical hours by level and group, why the work takes so long, what a week can look like, what banks have changed, and how bankers manage the lifestyle.

Typical hours by level

The figures below are broad ranges reported widely by people in the industry. They aren’t official statistics, and individual experience varies widely.

Level	Typical weekly hours	What drives them
Summer intern	Often similar to analysts	Staffed on live work to test fit
Analyst (years 1–3)	Roughly 70–100	Producing models, pitch books and deal documents
Associate	Roughly 65–90	Reviewing analyst work, managing processes
Vice president	Roughly 55–75	Managing deals and client relationships
Director / managing director	Variable, often 50–70+	Winning business, client meetings, travel

The averages matter less than the unpredictability. A week that looks quiet on Monday can turn into several late nights by Wednesday if a client asks for a revised analysis or a deal reaches a key stage.

Why the hours are so long

Client-driven deadlines

Banking is a service business. When a client wants a board presentation tomorrow morning or a buyer submits a bid on Friday evening, the team responds. Deadlines are set by clients, counterparties and markets, not by the bank’s schedule.

Iteration

Pitch books and models go through many rounds of comments. An analyst drafts pages, an associate comments, a vice president comments, a managing director changes the story, and the cycle repeats. Each round can arrive late in the day.

Multiple deals at once

Analysts are usually staffed on several deals and pitches at the same time. Each team expects its work to be done promptly, and the combined workload often stretches into evenings and weekends.

Accuracy expectations

Everything sent to clients must be checked carefully. Checking takes time, and it often happens at the end of the day when comments have finally been made.

Time zones and travel

Cross-border deals involve clients and colleagues in different time zones, extending the working day. Senior bankers also travel frequently for client meetings.

What a week can look like (hypothetical)

Here’s an illustrative week for a first-year analyst in an M&A group during a live sell-side process. Every week is different; this is one plausible example, not a standard.

Monday: in by 9am. Morning updating the buyer contact log and answering due diligence requests. Afternoon on a pitch for a different client. Comments arrive at 7pm; finish around midnight.

Tuesday: management presentation edits for the live deal. Dinner ordered to the office. Work until about 1am after a late round of comments from the vice president.

Wednesday: a quieter day; leaves at around 9pm, which feels early.

Thursday: bids are due Friday, so the team prepares the bid comparison model. Work continues until around 2am.

Friday: bids arrive in the afternoon. The analyst summarises them for the managing director’s call with the client. Finishes around 11pm.

Saturday: protected under the bank’s weekend policy, so the analyst is offline.

Sunday: a few hours of work in the afternoon to prepare materials for Monday’s client meeting.

Total: roughly 80 hours. A week during a quiet period might be 55–65 hours; a week before signing a major deal could be considerably more.

How hours differ by group and firm

Not all banking jobs carry the same hours. Broad patterns that people in the industry often describe:

Area	Hours pattern
M&A and industry coverage groups	Often the longest and least predictable, driven by deal timetables and pitches
Leveraged finance and restructuring	Can be very intense during active transactions; restructuring workloads tend to rise when the economy weakens
Equity and debt capital markets	Often somewhat more predictable, tied to market hours and issuance windows, but busy during deal launches
Elite boutiques	Frequently similar to or longer than large banks, with smaller teams and lean staffing
Middle-market and regional banks	Can be somewhat lighter, though this depends heavily on the firm and the deal

Location matters too. Hours in major centres such as New York and London are typically long, while regional offices may be slightly more predictable. Culture within each team often matters more than the bank’s name; two groups at the same bank can feel very different.

What banks have changed

Junior banker workloads have received public attention, particularly after surveys by analysts and media reports about burnout and health. In response, several banks have introduced measures such as:

• protected weekends or protected Saturdays, where juniors aren’t expected to work unless a live deal requires it,
• guidelines on maximum weekly hours for junior staff, with monitoring of time logged,
• additional hiring to spread work across more analysts,
• pay increases for junior bankers,
• wellbeing resources such as mental health support and mandatory time off.

These measures help, and many analysts say they make a real difference, but implementation varies. During busy periods, live deals often take priority, and some analysts report pressure to work beyond guidelines. When researching banks, ask analysts directly how policies work in practice.

The lifestyle beyond the hours

Unpredictability

The hardest part for many analysts isn’t the total number of hours but not knowing when work will finish. Plans for dinners, exercise or weekends can be cancelled at short notice. Many analysts learn to make flexible plans and tell friends and family that cancellations may happen.

Being “on call”

Even when not actively working, juniors are often expected to respond to emails and messages quickly. Phones become a constant presence, which makes switching off difficult.

Social life and relationships

Long hours limit time for friends, partners and family. Analysts often say their social life shifts toward colleagues, because they understand the schedule. Maintaining relationships outside work takes deliberate effort.

Health

Sleep, exercise and diet often suffer, especially in the first year. Banks provide meals and transport home late at night, but long-term health depends on habits analysts build for themselves.

How analysts cope: practical strategies

People who last in banking usually develop routines that protect the essentials. Common strategies analysts describe:

1. Protect sleep where you can. On quieter nights, go home and sleep rather than staying late out of habit. Consistent sleep on lighter days helps you get through heavy weeks.
2. Exercise in short, regular bursts. A 30-minute morning workout or walking part of the commute is more sustainable than planning long sessions that get cancelled.
3. Eat sensibly at the office. Late-night dinners are a fixture, so choosing reasonably healthy options most nights makes a noticeable difference over months.
4. Batch life admin. Use protected weekends and quieter days for errands, appointments and seeing friends.
5. Communicate workload clearly. If you’re staffed on too many things, tell your staffer or the bankers involved early. Most would rather adjust timelines than receive late or rushed work.
6. Work efficiently. Templates, shortcuts and a good checking routine reduce rework, which is one of the biggest causes of late nights.
7. Plan time off. Take your allocated holiday and agree coverage in advance so you can genuinely disconnect.
8. Use support. Talk to peers, mentors and wellbeing services if stress builds. Many banks provide confidential counselling.

Do the hours get better?

Generally yes, but the nature of the pressure changes. Analysts gain efficiency with experience, so the same task takes less time in the second year. Associates spend more time reviewing and managing, which can be slightly more predictable, though still demanding. Vice presidents and managing directors often work fewer hours than juniors but carry more responsibility, travel more and are under pressure to bring in fees.

Many people leave banking after two or three years for roles with more predictable hours, such as corporate development or some private equity and investment roles, although private equity hours can also be long. Our guide to investment banking careers covers the full progression and common exits.

Where the time actually goes

It helps to know which tasks fill an analyst’s day, because it explains why hours stay long even for efficient people. A large share of time typically goes to updating and checking materials rather than creating something new: refreshing market data, applying comments from several reviewers, reformatting pages, reconciling numbers between a model and a presentation, and responding to due diligence requests. Waiting is also a hidden cost. Analysts often wait for comments from senior bankers who are in meetings all day, which pushes the next round of work into the evening.

Is the trade-off worth it?

Long hours are part of a broader trade-off. In return, junior bankers typically receive:

• high pay relative to most graduate jobs, including bonuses,
• fast learning about finance, business and client service,
• strong exit opportunities into investment and corporate roles,
• responsibility early on significant transactions.

Whether that trade-off is worth it depends on your goals, health, personal circumstances and how long you plan to stay. Some people thrive on the intensity and the deals; others find that the lack of control over their time outweighs the benefits. It’s reasonable to treat banking as a fixed-term investment of a few years rather than a permanent lifestyle.

Questions to ask before accepting an offer

When speaking to current analysts, ask:

• “What were your hours like in a typical month, and in your busiest month?”
• “How does the weekend policy work in practice?”
• “How does staffing work? Is there a staffer who balances workload?”
• “How often are plans cancelled at short notice?”
• “What do people in the group do outside work?”
• “Why have people left the group recently?”

Honest answers to these questions tell you more than any average figure, because team culture drives the day-to-day experience.

Signs the workload is becoming unsustainable

Long hours are expected, but some signals mean it’s time to speak to someone: persistent sleep problems, physical symptoms that don’t improve on lighter weeks, feeling unable to cope with routine tasks, or withdrawing from people outside work. Raising concerns with a mentor, staffer or HR is a sensible step, and it’s far better done early. No deal is worth lasting damage to your health.

FAQ

How many hours do investment banking analysts work?

Commonly around 70–100 hours a week at large banks, depending on the group, the bank and how busy the deal pipeline is.

Do investment bankers work weekends?

Often, especially on live deals. Many banks now protect one weekend day or full weekends for juniors, but urgent deal work can override this.

Are hours better in London or New York?

Both are demanding. Differences between groups and banks usually matter more than the city.

Do senior bankers work fewer hours?

Usually somewhat fewer, but they face more travel, client pressure and responsibility for revenue.

Can you have a life outside work as an analyst?

Yes, but it takes planning and flexibility. Analysts who protect sleep, exercise and key relationships cope better over two or three years.

Why don’t banks just hire more analysts?

Some have, but deal work is lumpy and client-driven, and teams are reluctant to add cost during quiet periods. Workload also depends on how efficiently teams run comment cycles.

Takeaway

Investment banking hours are long and, above all, unpredictable. Expect roughly 70–100 hours a week as an analyst at a large bank, with big swings between quiet and busy periods and between groups. Banks have introduced protected weekends and hour guidelines, but live deals still come first. If you go in with clear eyes, build sustainable routines and treat the first few years as an intense investment in skills and options, the lifestyle is manageable for many people. For pay and the wider finance landscape, see our financial analyst salary guide.