To think a salary equivalent to £40k p.a. Is not sufficient for...

[CruCru]

...the sort of hours that banking interns seem to put in (according to the Times). It sounds hellish.

It is also completely unreasonable to expect interns to work for free - it means only those with wealthy parents can afford to get this sort of experience.

Fwiw xhia, I agree that your situation isn't any sort of paradise, having debt around your neck is very worrying. Especially people who don't have family already doing these stressful jobs don't understand what they are getting into, I didn't and it sounds like you didn't. Everyone we know looks at the salary price and thinks about the benefits amd not the costs, that's just how people are unfortunately. Similarly, thinking traveling for business is fun...

No one makes you be an Investment Banking intern. (PBB waits for the one person whose father said they'd disinherit them if they didn't do an IB internship to post......)

So, it is a choice. I spent years in the City & know full well that a lot of the people who work there are deal junkies who get their kicks from the long hours, macho culture and nail biting tension that goes with big trades.

It is not like you are desperate and forced into that line of work because you simply have no other choice. It is always an option to say "No, fuck it - no money in the world is worth this lifestyle choice" and go and be an estate agent instead!

Xhia remember they will one day though and start looking at it like that and trying to take in projects that build your transferable skills so you don't feel so trapped. By the time you are in your early 30s hopefully you will have paid off your debts and can change it up. I do sympathize, many people with more clued up parents made better career choices.

xhia you are a trainer solicitor right? ie you've been to im university and graduated and qualified in Law and are now doing your articles/training contract/pupillage whatever it is called these days. isn't this thread about IB interns ie students who are still at uni, haven't graduated yet. you would hope they'd put the 40k pro rata into paying off or avoiding some student debt wouldn't you. another reason not to feel sorry for them.

trainee

I barely ever saw my home as a graduate at an advertising agency, all nighters and weekends working were the norm all for the exciting sum of £14k a year.

But I did it so that I could go client side, get the better money and be the one to order the agencies about

I really don't think they are the ones deserving of your concern op!

Firstly, all this 'he was killed by the job/hours' is at best, speculation and at worst utter nonsense. It is true that he worked long hours and it is true he had a pre-existing medical condition that may have caused him to die suddenly. It has not been established that the job killed him.

People putting themselves forward for an internship at an investment bank know what they will have to do, and knows that if they enjoy the work, and are good at it, they'll be doing this full time.

The pay means they can afford to live in London close enough to their place of work that they don't have a long commute on top of long hours, and is enough to give them a reasonable standard of living while they are doing it. It isn't supposed to set them up for life, or equate to an hourly pay. If they have an hourly pay mentality, they ain't gonna last very long in a job like that.

The sector isn't for everyone, and this is as good a way as any to find out if they can cope with the hours and the pressure and the way of life. If they can't, they can find another career without having wasted much time in their life.

If they like it, then they have an opportunity to prove themselves to a potential employer and hopefully enjoy the first rung of a long career.

'Xiaozhu do you think it will be worth it when your salary increases? And when it keeps going up.'

I hope so! However, I do want to start a family one of these days so I can imagine that I'll end up quitting just as things start looking up...! Women in my profession don't usually make it to the top level once they've had kids (and those that do are bloody superwomen/slightly insane!)

Yes I am a trainee not an intern, but I was an intern for 3 weeks at the same firm I work for now, and it was the internship that led to the job. On the internship they are supposed to treat you as if you are on the job - to get a 'real taste' of what it's like. This involves paying you the same (pro-rata) as you'd get if you really were employed by them (which is good otherwise you wouldn't be able to afford to do it unless you live in London/are rich). Other than this though my internship was nothing like being 'on the job' - we 'worked' 9-5 and they laid on loads of social activities, trips out, decent food/booze etc. It was great.

But then they were trying to snare us...

It is tough. But so many careers are in London post-dc. I nearly went back to work the other day and noticed that everyone who doesn't own part of the company was pre-dc age. Hardly any mothers anyway.

Childcare is huge and hours can be long. On the plus side if you do decide to stay it's one of the few careers that make it worthwhile to keep working and still pay for childcare (in London).

I imagine it all gets better as you move up. Well, fingers crossed!

Thanks Marsha. I'm being beasted right now but yes there is the hope that as I become more senior I'll have a bit more control over my work (atm I'm everyone's bitch) and be able to pay off the debt. Plus if my husband still can't work he can always look after the DCs...

Yep definitely!