"My banking tech job was blighted by having nothing to do"

8 January 2025

2 minute read

"My banking tech job was blighted by having nothing to do"

I'm a developer. Last year, I lost my job at a major US investment bank. I've just started a new one at a prestigious tech company.

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Working here is completely different. I have to work extremely hard to ship features. If I don't, I won't last in the job. It's all about efficiency, speed and hard work.

In banking, by contrast, I had very little to do. There were times I worked 10-hour weeks because my managers simply didn't give me anything. Banks also have terrible developer experience (DevX) compared to big tech. I would have to constantly ask for permission for the few changes I had to make. Even the smallest change was a struggle.

As a result, I spent most of my day in banking staring into space. Nobody seemed to care. They simply wanted me sitting at my desk at 9am, and leaving no earlier than 5:30pm. The work didn't seem important.

I'm now working harder, for more money. My new role came with a $100k pay rise. Big tech firms are about hiring a few very high quality developers. Banks are about bodies in seats and simply looking productive.

This is why, when I left banking, I didn’t even bother applying to jobs in financial services. I now earn more, have actual work today, and I spent two days a week working from home. There is a different world out there.

Anthony Paulsen is a pseudonym

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AUTHORAnthony Paulsen

Insider Comment

Ex
Experienced II
10 January 2025
I worked as an SE/SEM at banks for almost 20 years. There was *never* a lack of work. Doing more with less was a familiar refrain. I don't doubt that there are backwaters where there isn't sufficient work, but such situations are bound not to last long. The author and this site should know better than to characterize an entire industry in this light. The industry is not about "bodies in seats looking productive." I know literally hundreds of bank SE's who are tired of working too hard because their teams aren't allowed to expand given budget constraints.
One needs to be proactive in one’s career, and it’s good that the author found a path to a better situation. However, the perspective voiced here is narrow and uninformed. Large organizations do have their problems, and there will certainly be pockets of bad management that can create the frustrations discussed. However, some maturity is needed to understand the bigger picture, how these organizations work, and how to manage your career within them. Leaving a crap job and flaming the industry reflects a lack thereof.
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