"I'm an M&A VP at a European bank in London. It's my worst job yet"

This time next year, I will not be doing this job. I am a vice president working in M&A for a European bank in London, and it is the worst job in banking that I have done so far. 

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My managing director is a workaholic. My colleagues are highly political. And there are no controls on my working hours. I thought I would work less as a VP. I don't. I regularly see colleagues burning out and in bad states, both mentally and physically. 

The problem here is that there are far too many managing directors and too few people at other levels. The MDs are all under pressure, so they lean on everyone further down the hierarchy. Some deals here are staffed with four MDs - it's madness. I know that at other banks, you would have two MDs at the most. I'm having to mediate between these MDs and the team and am ending up in situations where I'm working 18 hours straight for days on end, and no one seems to care. 

There are alternatives. A lot of my friends have left banking and I will do the same. I don't really want to go to another bank and start all over again. Once my bonus is paid, I think corporate development is probably the best alternative. 

Let me know if you have any suggestions in the comments at the bottom of this page. 

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