I have a brother-in-law who had a job like this. He started right out of university and worked his way up to a VP position with his company before retiring last year at 40. He’s married and has four kids, huge house, boat, they go on extravagant vacations, etc.
One of his teen daughters said, when asked how she felt about her dad retiring and being home all the time, that it was ok because he is “nice” now. She went on to explain how her primary memory of him over her youth is that he was always “mad”.
That sounds awful... having that much cash is nice, but it cost him seeing his children grow up and having a good relationship with them right now.
When you're fresh out of grad school I can imagine the thought process of grinding it out for a couple of years to get to the higher pay brackets. But when there's a wife and kids involved... not so much.
Well, it could be worse. You could be mad/anxious all the time and not making the big bucks. The people that are mentioned here, making the big bucks with plush material lives are not the majority. Just like during the 80s and 90s, most sell-side traders were not making millions.
One of his teen daughters said, when asked how she felt about her dad retiring and being home all the time, that it was ok because he is “nice” now. She went on to explain how her primary memory of him over her youth is that he was always “mad”.