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utahnow t1_iym8cbp wrote

Reply to comment by muu411 in Morgan Stanley finally lures bankers back to the office 5 days a week by smallint

As someone who’s worked on WS… and still does: the only people who care about “prestige” are the junior ones in their resume building phase. Oddly, big “prestigious” banks know that and actually sometimes pay LESS than their smaller counterparts. “ we are Goldman everybody wants to work for us anyway we don’t need to pay top dollar”. After 2-3-4 years whatever people care about the money and the lifestyle over a brand name. The cushiest opportunities are found in smaller shops in fact.

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Ame_No_Uzume t1_iymlba2 wrote

The funny irony is hearing their executives complain about the turnover, especially amongst their traders. They end up paying more in recruitment, consulting, onboarding, hiring and training in the long run.

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muu411 t1_iymabxv wrote

I agree with you, but my point is that when it comes to recruiting that’s a lot more relevant to juniors, and significantly more people working on Wall Street are more junior employees (we can’t all make MD). In an industry where most people are only going to stay for a few years before moving on, the prestige is important. I’m not sure how much RTO will really impact people’s decisions long-term - the same people who want to kill themselves to make MD at a top bulge bracket or EB will probably continue to do so regardless, and a lot of the people who would prefer more wfh flexibility are the ones who would have looked to move to a smaller shop anyway.

I also wonder if the point about more prestigious banks paying less is slowly but surely starting to change (though current market conditions and the impact on big tech, etc may slow this down). It’s interesting you use Goldman as an example, given they just raised base salaries to move towards the top of the street, and paid out bonuses largely on par with even elite boutiques this year…

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utahnow t1_iymoyzq wrote

I agree and i actually do believe that juniors in NYC should be in the office. I am an MD and i know i couldn’t have made it by working from home. And why would you even freaking want to as a young person in NYC living in a tiny apartment? give me my desk and my ergonomic office chair over a couch and a coffee table in a studio apartment. Get out there, meet people, work hard, play harder, this is what your 20ies are for 😀

But it’s the seniors who are the rainmakers, it is my job to bring in business and I do not need to sit in the office for that and if a company is gonna try and make me, I am taking my clients and my team and I am leaving. Or I am leaving the industry - exit opportunities at senior levels are abundant and attractive, you can size them up to your desired lifestyle. So this is how it’s gonna be. Those with options will exercise them.

Edit: and GS funny enough just gave its traders bonus warning despite having a good year. This is what i am talking about. BB sucks for senior people

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