Bankers lose status and move down the pecking order

No one ever said a career in financial markets was fun, but it certainly had its benefits. Now, says Matthew Lynn, bankers feel themselves slipping down the league table of desirable careers.

Your portfolio is in tatters. Your job is about as secure as an investment with Bernard Madoff. Now, as if life wasn't gloomy enough, your girlfriend or wife is about to trade you in for a more lucrative model.

No one ever said a career in financial markets was fun. The hours were backbreaking. The work was dull. The maths were often impenetrable. And your colleagues? Well, let's put it this way: a picnic with a pack of wolves would be more relaxing and there would be less chance of getting your sandwich stolen.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.