I absolutely understand that $1M doesn't seem like much while on wall street, as I said in my original comment it's not early retirement / "F You" money. For the purely money-driven clearly they keep working and living the lifestyle.
But for the people who do leave, as you did, and the blog author, and presumably the others considering which foul acts are better than going to work each day, I have to think their lives are still on a much easier trajectory. If you have $500k and hate your life, you can easily take a year off to figure out a new plan, go to grad school without worrying about cost or lost wages, start a company, etc. If you hate your job as a dishwasher you probably don't have a lot of options, but as a wall streeter, it seems like you should be able to walk away at any point and still be better off than 95% of Americans.
I guess I just wonder how many people do take that opportunity. $500k makes you a BSD in most of the US, but if you've only ever known prep school, ivy league then wall street, I suspect the idea of living and working elsewhere sounds repugnant.
Yes, but you're forgetting that this is a business where pretty much the only reason you're there and successful is because you're either enormously ego or money driven. Otherwise you just wouldn't last. Lots of people don't last very long regardless.
Someone who will work 100+ hours a week -- despite being able to make $200K at a regular 40 hour a week job -- is not the kind of person who "takes a break" because they have a little cushion in the bank. These are incredibly hard core people who spend every minute of their day figuring out how to be just a little bit more successful than they are right now. Their goals are to make millions per year.
I've worked with people who were worth more than $2B and up and would pretty much cut your heart out with a spoon if it meant an extra $100 in their pocket. As another banker pointed out, that's part of why they're worth $2B, and we're not.
I worked for two years in Canary Wharf and didn't change my lifestyle so I was able to save some money. I just announced I was quitting this week and I am currently trying to think about what to do next. Which can be pretty much anything. It's hard to decide what to do next when there's no limit.
Most of my friends did change their lifestyles while working in Canary Wharf and when they decided to leave they had no money at all. I'm glad I avoided that.
The fact of the matter is that banks are up or out. Most people won't make MD, either because they can't stand it anymore or they're asked to leave. So most "take that opportunity." As for what they do--they take a few hundred K and a prestigious job title to a cushy corp finance position or similar. The superstars go to a hedge fund and make even more money.
But for the people who do leave, as you did, and the blog author, and presumably the others considering which foul acts are better than going to work each day, I have to think their lives are still on a much easier trajectory. If you have $500k and hate your life, you can easily take a year off to figure out a new plan, go to grad school without worrying about cost or lost wages, start a company, etc. If you hate your job as a dishwasher you probably don't have a lot of options, but as a wall streeter, it seems like you should be able to walk away at any point and still be better off than 95% of Americans.
I guess I just wonder how many people do take that opportunity. $500k makes you a BSD in most of the US, but if you've only ever known prep school, ivy league then wall street, I suspect the idea of living and working elsewhere sounds repugnant.