In recent years, a chorus of complaints has emerged from Millennial and Gen-Z interns and junior analysts about the allegedly intolerable conditions at top investment banks. The grievances — ranging from long hours and high stress to inconsistent team dynamics and alleged workplace “toxicity” — have generated headlines and sparked conversations about labor conditions and culture in high finance. But beneath the noise lies a deeper misunderstanding about the nature of elite private institutions, the purpose of internships, and the reality of competition in a modern, highly-financialized economy.
Investment banking, private equity, venture capital, and high-end consulting are not ordinary jobs. They are the apex of professional competitiveness, where firms with multi-billion-dollar deal flow and balance sheet risk hire a microscopic fraction of total applicants to execute transactions under extreme time pressure and regulatory scrutiny.
Internships at such firms are not “jobs” in the conventional sense — they are auditions for a place in the top 0.1 percent of white-collar finance, and they are designed as such. Grueling hours, constantly shifting expectations, and demanding supervisors are not anomalies; they are features, not bugs. If a 22-year-old intern finds the pressure overwhelming or the environment unwelcoming, it likely isn’t a condemnation of the firm or industry — it’s a signal that the fit is poor. Internships are a discovery process, and self-selection out of a high-pressure field is not failure — it’s a market process in action. (Despite the framing in many articles, no intern is ever forced to work 100 hours. A demanding schedule may be expected, but departure is always an option.)
Needless to say, complaints that arise from medical incidents, stress-induced hospitalizations, and burnout should not be dismissed out of hand. But one must simultaneously acknowledge that medical emergencies occur in every workplace — from teaching hospitals to retail stores to tech startups. Additionally, American society is increasingly burdened by chronic stress, poor diet, inadequate sleep, and widespread pharmaceutical dependence. Blaming the workplace of high finance for an intern’s breakdown ignores the broader public health context in which even sedentary, mid-level office workers experience panic attacks and ER visits. Investment banks, hedge funds, and consulting firms offer some of the highest compensation and fastest career progression in the private sector. It’s no surprise that the environments they foster demand more stamina and discipline than average.
Another frequent complaint involves inconsistencies in expectations across teams, uneven treatment of interns, or a lack of clear feedback.
These expectations are, in many ways, cultural shock for recent graduates of US universities, where the past two decades have produced increasingly egalitarian/equity-conscious, feedback driven, psychologically-buffered academic environments.
On campus, everyone is a “winner,” everyone gets a voice, and the rubric is transparent. But in the workplace — especially in the financial pressure cooker — favoritism exists, supervisors vary in quality and temperament, and feedback is often indirect, delayed, or brutally candid. The myth of the “fair” workplace is just that: a myth. Capital markets themselves are relentlessly unfair, favoring the prepared, the lucky, and sometimes the connected. The industry unapologetically reflects that ethos.
Firms are already making strides to improve mental health support, mitigate burnout, and attract a more diverse workforce. But let’s not confuse evolution with capitulation. High standards, asymmetric rewards, and elite gatekeeping have always defined Wall Street and the top tier of other industries. That’s precisely why compensation packages (even bonuses) routinely reach into seven figures for top performers. The cost of admission is steep, and many will decide — rightly — that the price is far too high. That’s neither a tragedy nor an indication that something is wrong. It’s simply how filtering works in a sector tasked with allocating hundreds of trillions of dollars of capital globally. The upside is enormous, and the demands are as well.