Why are people interested in a career in investment banking?

Yes, some parts of the job are dull and long. But at least parts of it are actually very interesting. It gives you a good learning experience and network to start your career. Salary and bonuses surpass that of all other industries at all levels.

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Reply 3

ahpadt

15

Original post by under8ed

Its always surprised me why so many people want to become investment banking analysts, etc even when fully knowing the ridiculous 100hrs a week and working in the weekend too, not to forget the highly competitive nature of the job. So is it just the money thats motivating you?

Because they think money is everything, being 18 years old without any real understanding of the demands of undertaking an academic degree and pursuing real work.

"LOL I WANNA WORK IN IB FO I ILL MAKE 100K WITHIN 2 YEARS ITLL BE AWSUM"

If you got paid the same base salary, you'd earn the same doing a normal job if you were paid for an equal amount of hours as you are expected to put in in IB. I don't get whats so fun about earning lots of money when you have zero opportunity to enjoy it.

Reply 4

gr8wizard10

because it's fun :smile:

Original post by ahpadt

If you got paid the same base salary, you'd earn the same doing a normal job if you were paid for an equal amount of hours as you are expected to put in in IB. I don't get whats so fun about earning lots of money when you have zero opportunity to enjoy it.

maybe in your first year of work that holds true, where all in comp averages around 60-70k, pay increases dramatically & within 3-4 years, you're earning 6 figures.

your post seems incredibly salty :frown:

and that makes me sad

and you do have time to enjoy it. when u f off to the buyside or reach vp, you're booking it, and working a lot beter hours for the most part.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 5

ahpadt

15

Original post by gr8wizard10

because it's fun :smile:

maybe in your first year of work that holds true, where all in comp averages around 60-70k, pay increases dramatically & within 3-4 years, you're earning 6 figures.

your post seems incredibly salty :frown:

and that makes me sad

and you do have time to enjoy it. when u f off to the buyside or reach vp, you're booking it, and working a lot beter hours for the most part.

I already feel tired enough working relatively normal hours, so I wouldn't want to put even more hours in and have zero spare time left, when I still have the potential to keep contact with university friends and the like.

Reply 6

Original post by under8ed

Its always surprised me why so many people want to become investment banking analysts, etc even when fully knowing the ridiculous 100hrs a week and working in the weekend too, not to forget the highly competitive nature of the job. So is it just the money thats motivating you?

- It's high pressured and fast paced
- Exit opportunities to more interesting careers
- Money is great and the hours decrease over time
- You're literally involving yourself in some of the biggest deals in the business world, deals that could end up on the newspapers
- The skillset of researching, analysing and distilling information about businesses from a top down point of view, is a highly transferrable one for if you ever wanted to run your own company or move into an exec role
- The network you make is unparalleled
- 100hrs a week is not actually that common... Average is 70-80 hours a week as a grad which drops to 60-70 after a few years. MDs aren't pulling >65-70hrs a week. Besides, there's sales/trading/research which tend to be 6/7am til 5:30/6pm.

Overall it's a great career with plenty of upside available for those committed to it. Even if the majority leave the industry, they're still equipped with top notch skills, a solid network of contacts and plenty of options (startups, corp dev, b-school) to pursue.

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Reply 7

Kiltennel

I've done a few internships in run of the mill 40 hour a week jobs. Never again, the boredom and lack of interesting work killed me. Very few careers provide the exposure, skill set, and exit opportunities that investment banking does. As alluded to above, few very go into IB with the intention to stay beyond 3-4 years. Do your analyst programme and you have exit opportunities that only a handful of other careers offer.

Reply 8

Oilfreak1

19

i'm just genuinely interested in financial analysis of petroleum assets. The moneys a huge factor but if i'm running DCF analyses in my spare time for fun i'm sure I wont mind getting paid bucket loads to do it even if I have to work till 2am.

I like the grind aswell I want to be in the office till unearthly hours of the night, part of why I loved my undergrad in engineering so much.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 9

Bb^

6

Age 22: ~£50-70k, 100+ hours
Age 25: ~£100-120k, 80-90 hours
Age 30: ~£150-200k, 70-80 hours
Age 35-40: ~£250-500k, 60-70 hours

Moving to buyside certainly makes both sides of that equation change, if you succeed at the right fund, in your favour.

Can't speak for why everyone is motivated, but to ahpadt's point that's the trade off. Question is more about patience.

Bb

Reply 10

Original post by Bb^

Age 22: ~£50-70k, 100+ hours
Age 25: ~£100-120k, 80-90 hours
Age 30: ~£150-200k, 70-80 hours
Age 35-40: ~£250-500k, 60-70 hours

Moving to buyside certainly makes both sides of that equation change, if you succeed at the right fund, in your favour.

Can't speak for why everyone is motivated, but to ahpadt's point that's the trade off. Question is more about patience.

Bb

Is this from personal experience? Seems slightly lower than expected, I've seen some US numbers for VP-MD and they're quite a tad higher.

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££££££££

OP

60-70 hours is still a lot. Its almost 10 hours a day assuming you work both weekends. IF you dont work in the weekends, thats 12-14 hours a day, but then i guess some people can handle that and live with it.

And the opportunities that arise from investment banking are only assuming that you initially get a job, which is ultra competitive, with as much as 100 ppl applying per job

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Reply 13

Original post by under8ed

60-70 hours is still a lot. Its almost 10 hours a day assuming you work both weekends. IF you dont work in the weekends, thats 12-14 hours a day, but then i guess some people can handle that and live with it.

And the opportunities that arise from investment banking are only assuming that you initially get a job, which is ultra competitive, with as much as 100 ppl applying per job

Of course, otherwise they wouldn't be dubbed 'exit opportunities'.. IB is a prerequisite for quite a few jobs. And to your second point, if people are scared of competition they shouldn't be looking to go into the industry. Your bonus depends on how well you compete, promotions depend on how well you compete, the exit opps depend on how well you outcompete other applicants..

The word 'competition' is pretty intrinsic to any top tier career.

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Reply 14

username2130115

16

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Reply 15

under8ed

OP

Original post by Princepieman

Of course, otherwise they wouldn't be dubbed 'exit opportunities'.. IB is a prerequisite for quite a few jobs. And to your second point, if people are scared of competition they shouldn't be looking to go into the industry. Your bonus depends on how well you compete, promotions depend on how well you compete, the exit opps depend on how well you outcompete other applicants..

The word 'competition' is pretty intrinsic to any top tier career.

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Well it would be naive not to consider the competition, as realistically and statistically speaking, it would be very very difficult to get a job. Of course it depends upon which uni you went, what degree you did etc etc.

Is this something you're interested in?

Reply 16

Original post by under8ed

Well it would be naive not to consider the competition, as realistically and statistically speaking, it would be very very difficult to get a job. Of course it depends upon which uni you went, what degree you did etc etc.

Is this something you're interested in?

Yes but anything 'top' is difficult to get.. Shouldn't be a reason not to go for it. And it depends much more on your achievements and experience. Although, ofc, target/sem-target uni students will get more attention paid to their CVs.

Indeed.

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Reply 17

under8ed

OP

Original post by Princepieman

Yes but anything 'top' is difficult to get.. Shouldn't be a reason not to go for it. And it depends much more on your achievements and experience. Although, ofc, target/sem-target uni students will get more attention paid to their CVs.

Indeed.

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Well i guess you seemed to have thought this through as opposed to just saying 'Im gonna earn £££s'. good luck!

Reply 18

Kiltennel