Ask an investment banker anything.
I get cold-called by uni students at least once a month asking various questions on banking so figured I would go straight to the target demographic with some old fashioned Q&A
In summary: M&A advisory, joined as an analyst in 2011, London uni graduate, work in the City
Fire away
In summary: M&A advisory, joined as an analyst in 2011, London uni graduate, work in the City
Fire away
Scroll to see replies
Have you seen many science graduates, more specifically chemistry graduates as investment bankers?
Where did you graduate from and with what degree?
Do you know any students who studied at Cass / Durham / Nottingham who work in F/O-M/O positions?
What are the working hours like in M&A and what big deals have you worked on (amounts your dealing with)?
Do you know any students who studied at Cass / Durham / Nottingham who work in F/O-M/O positions?
What are the working hours like in M&A and what big deals have you worked on (amounts your dealing with)?
Is the money worth the long hours and stress?
Original post by 786:)
qualifications? detail please 
salary? Sorry if too personal
salary? Sorry if too personal
BSc Economics. Not legally allowed to disclose compensation in the public arena
Original post by suzylemonade
Have you seen many science graduates, more specifically chemistry graduates as investment bankers?
It matters a lot less than you think. There are always going to be more economics / finance students (in particular from European business schools) as a matter of self-selection and the obvious environmental drivers
Original post by majmuh24
How much maths would you normally use in your job and how much did you learn in your degree?
It's not rocket science. There's some element of math involved but it's nothing more than simple algebra and it's certainly not the hardest aspect of the job. How much of my degree do I use? Zero
Original post by Jkizer
Stressful job?
Yes
Original post by Xyloid
Do you know of many people around you who went to Universities outside of London ? If so, are there any particulars that seem to crop up ?
Do you enjoy your job ? Do many people change professions after a certain amount of time ?
Do you enjoy your job ? Do many people change professions after a certain amount of time ?
About 50% come in from European business schools and for the other 50% that came in from UK universities it's a pretty good mix between London and non-London. Again, it might matter to HR but once you get past the first round nobody really cares. The job is interesting but certainly difficult and I'd say about 50% leave within two years of joining
Original post by matchdayG
bull****. Like an investment banker would bother with this ****. Have none of you gained an idea of a banker's life from Wolf of Wall Street?
They were not bankers, they were brokers
Original post by Abdul-Karim
Where did you graduate from and with what degree?
Do you know any students who studied at Cass / Durham / Nottingham who work in F/O-M/O positions?
What are the working hours like in M&A and what big deals have you worked on (amounts your dealing with)?
Do you know any students who studied at Cass / Durham / Nottingham who work in F/O-M/O positions?
What are the working hours like in M&A and what big deals have you worked on (amounts your dealing with)?
UCL. BSc Economics.
Yes, no, yes
Probably average 70-80 hours a week. Peak periods you could hit 120 hours with the odd all-nighter but that happens a lot less than people think (bankers often like to show off with horror stories)
Original post by IWantSomeMushu
Is the money worth the long hours and stress?
Sometimes. If you piss it away on bling probably not, but with some common sense it does open doors in life and lets you visit places and do things most people wait well into their thirties to arrive at
Original post by natninja
In the grand scheme of things, how important is having a Spring Insight week when applying to internships? I can imagine it helps with the firm you did it as due to you being less of an unknown quantity - but otherwise is it very helpful to have one or just a little bit of an edge?
In the grand scheme of things - not relevant at all. You might meet some interesting people and the exposure always helps but otherwise I can't see you getting anything out of a week but HR insist on having these programmes
Original post by ChefInBlackTie
I get cold-called by uni students at least once a month asking various questions on banking so figured I would go straight to the target demographic with some old fashioned Q&A
In summary: M&A advisory, joined as an analyst in 2011, London uni graduate, work in the City
Fire away
In summary: M&A advisory, joined as an analyst in 2011, London uni graduate, work in the City
Fire away
If someone wanted to follow a similar route as you what tips would you give them? Anything they should know beforehand?
How long after uni did you get/find your job? Was it through a summer internship?
GCSEs? A-levels?
GCSEs? A-levels?
Original post by ChefInBlackTie
In the grand scheme of things - not relevant at all. You might meet some interesting people and the exposure always helps but otherwise I can't see you getting anything out of a week but HR insist on having these programmes
Original post by natninja
In the grand scheme of things, how important is having a Spring Insight week when applying to internships? I can imagine it helps with the firm you did it as due to you being less of an unknown quantity - but otherwise is it very helpful to have one or just a little bit of an edge?
In the grand scheme of things - not relevant at all. You might meet some interesting people and the exposure always helps but otherwise I can't see you getting anything out of a week but HR insist on having these programmes
I think it's great that you have taken the time to do this and help people out! I tried to do something similar and people just complained about it!
This is the only point I would disagree with, Spring Weeks can be quite valuable as people can be fast-tracked from them if they stand out. It's a direct route to the internship.
Original post by ChefInBlackTie
I get cold-called by uni students at least once a month asking various questions on banking so figured I would go straight to the target demographic with some old fashioned Q&A
In summary: M&A advisory, joined as an analyst in 2011, London uni graduate, work in the City
Fire away
In summary: M&A advisory, joined as an analyst in 2011, London uni graduate, work in the City
Fire away
Thanks for your earlier reply.
Can I also ask, do you know a lot of graduates who have degrees in non-related fields such as Engineering or other STEM subjects ?
Will you marry me?
Original post by I'veGotAHadron
If someone wanted to follow a similar route as you what tips would you give them? Anything they should know beforehand?
The same advice I give for people applying to all other jobs: have a clear understanding of why you want something before you start figuring out how to get there. If you're not in it for the right reason, no amount of memorising Vault guides or rehearsing canned interview answers will ever get you where you need to be
So do your research, and by that I don't just mean taking what you read on the internet as the gospel truth (I recognise the irony in the fact that I'm telling you this on a message board) but go out and talk to people in the field, understand what they do and why they do it. Understand what drives the industry and form your own views as to what is right and what is wrong with it. Once you've taken all this information into account and decided you still want to go into whatever field it is, that knowledge will come out on its own when you interact with people through the selection process
Original post by harmingjuli
How long after uni did you get/find your job? Was it through a summer internship?
GCSEs? A-levels?
GCSEs? A-levels?
I got my offer in late 2010 and started work in July 2011 right after graduating in June 2011. Somewhat unusually for the industry I never interned anywhere and came in straight as an analyst (I don't think you can even do this anymore)
Original post by S&T1
I think it's great that you have taken the time to do this and help people out! I tried to do something similar and people just complained about it!
This is the only point I would disagree with, Spring Weeks can be quite valuable as people can be fast-tracked from them if they stand out. It's a direct route to the internship.
This is the only point I would disagree with, Spring Weeks can be quite valuable as people can be fast-tracked from them if they stand out. It's a direct route to the internship.
What I will say is that it certainly doesn't hurt to do a Spring Week because more experience and exposure will always do you good. The reason I take a somewhat pessimistic stance is because I don't want people thinking they have an easier life getting an internship just because they've done one of these insight programmes. You have so little time that it's basically just a multi-day networking event (which I believe are equally pointless, but that's a whole other debate) which doesn't give you the opportunity to actually work with people - so very few (if any) will fight your case when you apply for internships later on. On the flipside it's great in terms of cosying up to HR and maybe snagging a few business cards
That being said most people simply have no idea how to network properly
Original post by Xyloid
Thanks for your earlier reply.
Can I also ask, do you know a lot of graduates who have degrees in non-related fields such as Engineering or other STEM subjects ?
Can I also ask, do you know a lot of graduates who have degrees in non-related fields such as Engineering or other STEM subjects ?
A lot? No. Some? Yes
Original post by brightcitylights
Will you marry me?
That depends, how fast can you type? I'm trying to breed children with exceptional Googling skills
(edited 10 years ago)
Do you and your team play darts with midgets?
Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted from TSR Mobile
At what earning threshold do you suggest investing money? Do you have any preferred investment method? :P
Being so busy, and perhaps indefinitely so, are you happy? I know people in similar positions, and they report that they find it too much.
Being so busy, and perhaps indefinitely so, are you happy? I know people in similar positions, and they report that they find it too much.
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