depending on how you look at it

for all you know, they could be making five million dollars a year by the age of 26 or 27, and they could retire comfortably at 35. Very real examples in real life. In addition, believe it or not, many wall streeters enjoy what they do especially when there is that kind of money involved. Granted that still is far from a perfect life (e.g. long hours and high pressure throughout the career, which does not necessarily have to be long), but it may sound like a reasonably acceptable life to many people.