Investment banking runs on one of the highest junior turnover rates in professional services. Most analysts leave within two to three years, and a large share exit banking entirely rather than climb the ladder. One tracked cohort saw 44% of junior bankers gone from the industry inside three years. The churn is structural, not accidental.
Key takeaways
- The analyst job is designed as a two-to-three-year program, so high exit rates are baked into the model rather than a sign of failure.
- A widely cited PER study tracked 250 analysts who joined six top London banks in 2010 and found only 140 still in banking three years later, a 44% exit rate.
- Precise annual turnover percentages for investment banking are rarely published and vary by bank, year, and cycle, so treat any single "industry rate" figure with caution.
- The 2021 deal boom triggered a public burnout reckoning, most visibly a leaked Goldman Sachs first-year analyst survey.
- Banks responded with base pay raises, protected weekends, and faster promotion, but the pull of private equity and hedge fund recruiting keeps exits high.
Why turnover is so high
The honest answer is that a big chunk of turnover is intentional. Wall Street hires far more analysts than it can ever promote to managing director, and the pyramid narrows fast. The two-year analyst program exists to filter talent, and both sides know most people will move on.
The rest is burnout and better options. Junior bankers routinely work punishing hours during live deals, which wears down health, relationships, and patience for the grind. At the same time, the skills built in banking are exactly what private equity firms, hedge funds, and corporates want, so analysts have unusually strong exit options waiting for them.
The clearest public window into the burnout side came in March 2021. A group of 13 Goldman Sachs first-year analysts put together an internal survey during the pandemic deal boom and it leaked. Respondents reported averaging 95-hour weeks and roughly five hours of sleep a night. They rated their mental health at 8.8 out of 10 before starting the job and 2.8 at the time of the survey, and 77% said they had experienced workplace abuse. The sample was tiny, but it captured a real moment and forced a public response across Wall Street.
| Why bankers leave | How banks have responded |
|---|---|
| Extreme hours during live deals | "Saturday rule" and protected weekends (no work roughly 9pm Friday to 9am Sunday) |
| Burnout and health toll | Wellness perks, hiring more juniors to spread load, task automation |
| Low base pay relative to hours | 2021 base raises: JPMorgan, Citi, and Barclays to $100k; Goldman to $110k for first-years |
| Pyramid structure limits promotion | Faster, more direct analyst-to-associate promotion without requiring an MBA |
| Strong pull from PE and hedge funds | Retention bonuses and earlier full-time offers to keep second-years |
The "two and out" norm and exit opportunities
The dominant pattern is simple: join a bank out of college, spend about two years as an analyst, then leave for something else. This is so standard it has a name, "two and out," and the recruiting calendar is built around it. Private equity firms run on-cycle recruiting that pulls first- and second-year analysts long before their programs end, and the large majority of PE junior hires come straight from banking analyst classes.
Private equity is the marquee exit, but it is not the only one. Analysts also move to hedge funds, growth equity, private credit, corporate development, startups, and business school. If your target is buyside investing, the credential math matters early, which is why candidates weigh the best degree for private equity before they even start. The through-line is that banking is treated as a training ground, and the exit is the point for most people who take the job.
That framing reframes the turnover number. A 44% three-year exit rate looks alarming next to a normal corporate benchmark, but a large slice of it is analysts leaving on schedule with a better job in hand, not disgruntled employees quitting into uncertainty.
What actually changed after 2021
The 2021 burnout coverage produced real, if incremental, change. Banks raised junior base salaries across the board, with several lifting first-year analyst pay to $100k and Goldman going to $110k. Goldman recommitted to its "Saturday rule" limiting weekend work, and rivals rolled out special bonuses, wellness perks, and pledges to hire more junior staff and automate grunt work. Many firms also leaned into faster, more direct promotion from analyst to associate, dropping the old expectation that you needed an MBA to advance.
Whether any of this durably lowers turnover is the open question. Pay went up, and headline pay in hubs like New York is now higher than it was, as our breakdown of the investment banking analyst salary in NYC lays out. But the core drivers of exit remain intact. The hours are still long, the pyramid still narrows, and private equity still recruits hard against the banks. Retention efforts can slow the revolving door, but as long as the buyside offers more money and better hours to the same people, the exits will keep coming.
For a fuller picture of how these roles pay and progress, see our career and compensation hub.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of investment banking analysts leave within three years?
A widely cited PER study tracked 250 analysts who joined six top London banks in 2010 and found only 140 still in banking three years later, a 44% exit rate. Precise annual turnover percentages for the industry are rarely published and vary by bank, year, and cycle, so any single industry-wide figure should be treated with caution.
Why is investment banking turnover so high?
Investment banking turnover is high largely by design. Banks hire far more analysts than they can promote to managing director, so the two-year program exists to filter talent and both sides expect most people to move on. The rest is burnout from punishing hours during live deals, combined with unusually strong exit options, since the skills banking builds are exactly what private equity firms, hedge funds, and corporates want.
What did the 2021 Goldman Sachs analyst survey reveal?
The leaked 2021 Goldman Sachs survey, put together by 13 first-year analysts during the pandemic deal boom, reported averaging 95-hour weeks and roughly five hours of sleep a night. Respondents rated their mental health at 8.8 out of 10 before starting the job and 2.8 at the time of the survey, and 77% said they had experienced workplace abuse. The sample was tiny but forced a public response across Wall Street.
How did banks respond to the analyst burnout reckoning?
Banks responded by raising junior base salaries, with several lifting first-year pay to $100,000 and Goldman going to $110,000. Goldman recommitted to its Saturday rule limiting weekend work, and rivals rolled out special bonuses, wellness perks, and pledges to hire more juniors and automate grunt work. Many firms also leaned into faster, more direct promotion from analyst to associate, dropping the old expectation that you needed an MBA to advance.