What does “banking” mean, in the context of a high paying job?

[whatnoooow]

I’m obviously never going to be in this sort of role, due to having to even ask this question, but whenever high paying roles come up in conversation on MN, people tend to say “I’m, or my husband, is in banking/finance”.

But what do you actually do in these industries? It seems so vague and a bit like a secret club that plebs like me can’t know about. Dramatic, yes, but true nonetheless.

I feel like a lot of people from very working class backgrounds, ie weren’t encouraged to do well in school and weren’t advised on where education might take you due to parents simply not knowing, were never really aware of industries outside of retail or hairdressing!

When I left school, a “good job” was a receptionist, as it was seen as a step up from being the cleaner or working on a factory floor.

If anyone who works in these financial industries could give those of us need a bit of a nudge in the right direction, I’d be very appreciative!

Im sure lots of us have the drive and ambition to make better lives for our selves, which costs a hell of a lot more money than what we earn now, we just need to be guided by successful women.

I’ve worked in banking for 20 years. I do not have a degree and went to a pretty dreadful state comprehensive school; nobody in my family had ever worked in finance before me. I started my career at the age of 20 in an entry level operations role.

I’ve spent my whole career in business banking. Since the banks had to ring-fence following the financial crash, that’s defined as our business customers who turn over between £1m and £6.5m. I don’t know much more than the average Joe about trading, investment banking, private equity and hedge funds, that’s not my skill set.

I’ve worked my way up over the years and currently am a lending product manager. Not sure what you define as high earning but I’m on £60K.
My job involves taking feedback from the sales teams and brokers and using it alongside stock data to devise new products and propositions. It might involve a change to our credit risk appetite, an adjustment to pricing or a simplification of existing processes.

Pressed send too soon.

DH also works in banking. He comes from a similar family and school background as me. He does however, have a history degree, that he’s never used.

He also started off in a back office operations role. He’s now a relationship manager in corporate banking so looks after the everyday banking needs of businesses that turn over between £25m and £50m. He earns £95K.

We both earn annual bonuses on top of our salaries and are nowhere near London.

Read this (see towards bottom of page, the 2023/2024 guide): https://www.efinancialcareers.co.uk/banking-careers-guide . It includes a whole section on difference between back/front/middle office and an overview of lots of different roles in investment banking.

Also worth noting there are lots of different types of banks. Retail banking (your general high street banks), investment banks, private banking etc. Then the finance industry as a whole has e.g. hedge funds, asset managers, private equity, tax/audit (the big 4, Accenture etc), risk/compliance and so on.

Banking' usually means working in investment banking — a high-pressure, high-paying finance job with long hours but big bonuses!

I work in back office fintech in private equity / real assets, essentially developing systems for large companies.

I'm a systems developer by trade, rather than a finance person, so my role is IT with an extra layer of understanding rather than making deals or similar, which is where the big money is.

I am very well-paid, at director level, but as a PP said, it's not Wolf of Wall Street stuff - that's front/middle office.

@DropOfffArtiste which languages are most preferred?

Depends which bank you work for or which clients you cover. If you are fluent in the "home" language of your bank it will give you a lot more access to seniors and corridor conversations. Lots of quants/derivatives desks are majority French speaking too.