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Noob Questions

Hey everyone. I'm studying at Imperial at the moment and everyone here seems to want to go into IB. The only reason I seem to get given when I ask why is...money.

So, I have a few questions.

1) How much would a graduate in IB earn (including bonuses)?
2) How difficult/competitive is it to get into IB?
3) The sticky said that doing IB is like "selling your soul to the devil". I think I know what this is getting at but could someone expand on this?
4) Do people doing engineering at top unis actually go to big name engineering firms e.g. Rolls Royce, BAE Systems or are those sort of jobs for graduates from less prestigious unis?

Thanks
Original post by pleasedtobeatyou
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1) F/O you're looking at starting salary of around a 35-42k base (50-100% bonus, depending on performance), others can correct me if I'm wrong.

2) Very competitive. A lot of pre-requisites are generally needed which filters applicants i.e SW, internship, 2:1, ECs, relevant societies, leadership positions

3) Refers to work/life balance. Your life essentially will revolve around work, especially if you're going into IBD i.e M&A. It's not uncommon to work horrendous amounts of hours but I wouldn't let that put you off. If you have an interest for finance and you're willing to learn the craft then it should be an overall good experience which provides good exit opportunities.

4) No idea. I would suspect big firms would want to recruit from the best, nonetheless.
Reply 2
Original post by Abdul-Karim
1) F/O you're looking at starting salary of around a 35-42k base (50-100% bonus, depending on performance), others can correct me if I'm wrong.


1) More like 45-50k basic and 0-50% bonus, but that depends greatly on the year and performance and company.
Original post by pleasedtobeatyou
Hey everyone. I'm studying at Imperial at the moment and everyone here seems to want to go into IB. The only reason I seem to get given when I ask why is...money.

So, I have a few questions.

1) How much would a graduate in IB earn (including bonuses)?
2) How difficult/competitive is it to get into IB?
3) The sticky said that doing IB is like "selling your soul to the devil". I think I know what this is getting at but could someone expand on this?
4) Do people doing engineering at top unis actually go to big name engineering firms e.g. Rolls Royce, BAE Systems or are those sort of jobs for graduates from less prestigious unis?

Thanks


1) FO graduates start on 45k base, plus you might get a sign on bonus (1-6k+) plus a relocation allowance (1k) plus an actual bonus of 10-22k. This salary rises substantially year on year. Remember a lot of this will go in tax. Believe it or not, this actually places you in the top 5-7% of earners in the country.

2) Extremely competitive. About 90 applications to 1.

3) Refers to the hours. In S&T, it's more like 60 hours a week plus free weekends. In IBD it's more like 70-100+ hours a week and no weekends. This is during your first few years. That's why the salary might seem somewhat excessive. It also refers to the fact the bank 'owns' you and you will always have to drop everything if required. It also refers to the fact that the hours per week can be unpredictable. And finally, it also refers to the fact that some of the stuff you might have to do could be somewhat morally questionable (don't think this is so much an issue now though). Most people don't care about this because of the salary, learning curve and exit opportunities. Most people leave after three years (on their nearly six figures) and go onto something else.

4) No idea, have a search on LinkedIn and see for yourself.

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Original post by Abdul-Karim
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Original post by KLL
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Original post by will2348
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Would I be required to have any prerequisite knowledge concerning finance? This is at either the summer placement or graduate application stage.
Original post by pleasedtobeatyou

Would I be required to have any prerequisite knowledge concerning finance? This is at either the summer placement or graduate application stage.


Yes. You should have basic knowledge of valuation techniques, accounting, present/future value etc. for IBD. This is not as complicated as it seems. For S&T, I imagine it's just knowing asset classes, various valuation methods and good overall knowledge of the markets.

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Reply 6
Original post by will2348
Most people leave after three years (on their nearly six figures) and go onto something else.


Question - if the majority of people leave after a few years (and there can only be so many outrageously paying hedge fund positions one assumes?), does that mean most of these ex-IB grads end up taking a big pay cut to leave? If not, where do they go to maintain a near 6 figure salary at 25?
Original post by M1011
Question - if the majority of people leave after a few years (and there can only be so many outrageously paying hedge fund positions one assumes?), does that mean most of these ex-IB grads end up taking a big pay cut to leave? If not, where do they go to maintain a near 6 figure salary at 25?

PE, VC, Start-Ups, other banks, Entrepreneurship, Living off mummy and daddys money while running an "events company", lots of options.
Reply 8
Original post by Tokyoround
PE, VC, Start-Ups, other banks, Entrepreneurship, Living off mummy and daddys money while running an "events company", lots of options.


Ta but doesn't really hit on my question though - If the majority leave after circa 3 years on circa 100k, do the majority of that majority (who I presume don't make it in to PE/VC) take a bit cut?
Original post by M1011
Ta but doesn't really hit on my question though - If the majority leave after circa 3 years on circa 100k, do the majority of that majority (who I presume don't make it in to PE/VC) take a bit cut?

It depends tbh, some will take a cut of course, but from what I see, they are happy to tradeoff for better quality of life.
Reply 10
Original post by Tokyoround
It depends tbh, some will take a cut of course, but from what I see, they are happy to tradeoff for better quality of life.


Yea absolutely - not knocking it at all (either way they earn more than me :tongue: ).

Just interesting angle which I hadn't considered before as people always discuss if IB is worth it (given the workload vs remuneration).
Original post by M1011
Yea absolutely - not knocking it at all (either way they earn more than me :tongue: ).

Just interesting angle which I hadn't considered before as people always discuss if IB is worth it (given the workload vs remuneration).

Yeah it's a tough 3 years, but similar to big 4, people look at the bigger picture and realise that more opportunities (or even simply respect) are available to them once they have put in the work. Though someone who leaves Goldman might go to Coca-Cola corporate finance and take a 30k overall paycut, chances are superiors will trust them more and they will progress quickly.

Obviously this all depends on the individual, some people are just not cut out for corporate life and want easy jobs after 3 years of hell. Though they are in the minority.
Original post by M1011
Question - if the majority of people leave after a few years (and there can only be so many outrageously paying hedge fund positions one assumes?), does that mean most of these ex-IB grads end up taking a big pay cut to leave? If not, where do they go to maintain a near 6 figure salary at 25?


As far as I know, quite a few take a pay cut, yes. Some also use the money to start up their own thing as well as what has already been mentioned. But for example, earning 60-70k a year in a job that only requires 40/50 ish hours a week that you couldn't access before isn't really a bad option.

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Reply 13
Original post by M1011
Question - if the majority of people leave after a few years (and there can only be so many outrageously paying hedge fund positions one assumes?), does that mean most of these ex-IB grads end up taking a big pay cut to leave? If not, where do they go to maintain a near 6 figure salary at 25?



Original post by Tokyoround
PE, VC, Start-Ups, other banks, Entrepreneurship, Living off mummy and daddys money while running an "events company", lots of options.

Add to that, role in consulting and at corporates. Bankers can leverage their experience to gain positions with more seniority than someone else with the same years of work experience could get, which can negate some of the compensation loss.

But often people do just realize that having 40 or so hours more to yourself per weekis probably worth more than a 20-30k pay cut, particulary considering the lack of security of getting a big chunk of your pay (bonus).

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