Kike decided to walk back home after a 10
kilometer commute to her Uncle’s house.
She felt she needed to ponder over the
advice her uncle just gave her. A few days
earlier she had received a call from him
raising her hopes that he could use his
position as a major stakeholder in a bank
to help get a job. Kike read architecture in
school but had no plans of practicing as an
architect.
She just wanted to start earning cool cash
just like some of her friends currently do.
After all, her brother is a chemical
engineer but is currently a senior manager
in a bank. The advice from her uncle
dented her ego immensely; she still
doesn’t know how to react.
Why should her uncle give her the
following reasons not to be a banker...
You work an average 10 hours
Banks typically open to customers by 8am
and close to customers between 4pm to
5pm. However, the same does not apply to
employees of these banks who work for
almost 12 hours. An average banker works
between 7.30am to 6pm and for
employees on essential services it can last
for as much as 12 hours (8am-8pm). If you
are not up for working long hours for
someone else then you probably should
not consider being a banker.
You have no time for friends and
family
Banking services require a lot of attention,
dedication and concentration. When you
work for about 10 hours daily there is
hardly time to attend to some of the most
important things in life such as spending
time with family. Most young couples who
are bankers often find little time to play
with their kids or help then with school
work or attend school activities. The
negative consequences of this cannot be
over emphasized.
You leave home early and get home
late
We talked about having to work 10 hours
daily however, that is not all, if works
starts for you by 7.30 then you probably
need to be at work one hour earlier. To
beat the traffic and get to work earlier
means leaving your house as early as 6
am. An average banker wakes up 5 am
just to get to work before 7.30am. They
also leave much later than most other
professions. Most banks hardly keep to the
nine to five rule and despite that, they do
hardly pay overtime allowances for the
extra time you put in.
You get fired very easily
The banking sector is quite exposed to a
lot of regulatory and cyclical risk. When
the economy is bad like it currently is,
they are quick to run up cost as revenues
declines. They also face increase in bad
loans as most companies groaning under
the risk of economic crunch struggle to
pay back loans. When this happens, banks
are forced to cut down cost hence the
need to ‘downsize’ employees.
Typically, decisions like this affect even
the hardest working staff. It doesn’t matter
if you work 24 hours or sleep over during
the weekend. Most times when you get
fired, you have no place to go because you
are brain-drained. Imagine if Kike gets
fired after working for five years. Surely
she will find it difficult going back to
architecture. In addition, a little mistake
can get you fired regardless of your past
record.
The most hardworking doesn’t mean
the most rewarded
Banking is a service oriented job where
money is made by earning high returns
from customer deposits. Therefore, even if
an operation staff works from 7am to 9pm
every day, he will likely get less reward
from a marketer who works 8am to 5pm
every day but brings in the cash. The
marketer only just needs to meet his or
her targets in terms of deposits. Though
an equally difficult task considering the
apparent hazards, the difference however
is that a marketer’s achievement is quickly
noticeable hence likely to be rewarded
more often.
Promotions take too long to come by
These days banking is a bit more like the
civil service. In the nineties, a ten year
working experience can fetch you a senior
managerial position. Career development
was fast tracked at the time as the new
generation banks at the time sought new
talents. It is not that way these days as
you probably need to work twice as long to
attain the same position as you would
back them. It could take you as long as ten
years to become an assistant manager.
Promotions in banks probably come every
other two years and it is not certain that
you will get it.
Risk using your salary to pay for lost
money
There are numerous risks associated with
working in a bank and the major one is
losing money. It is likely, that you might
come across a transaction that might
warrant you losing the bank’s money.
Typically when that happens you might be
asked to refund the money from your
salary. The bank will just debit your salary
for the whole amount or deduct it over
time. The alternative to this might be
losing your job.
These are just examples that you need to
consider and talking to a banker may even
reveal more things to you. Banking is a
noble profession and can be very
rewarding if you work hard, add more
academic qualifications and have some
luck. However, it is not a bed of roses. You can add you own views too...