Explore
M&A and capital markets
Investment Banker
The pay is real and so are the hundred-hour weeks.
Typical pay
$150k-$400k+ with bonus
How you get in
Finance degree from a target school plus technical interview prep
Outlook
Cyclical; hiring tracks deal volume
Investment bankers advise on mergers, acquisitions and raising capital. Analyst compensation is genuinely high and the hours are genuinely brutal — the two facts are inseparable, and the two-year analyst program is designed as a filter.
A day in the life
- 9:30aUpdate the model with overnight comments
- 11:00aComparable company analysis
- 1:00pLunch at the desk
- 2:00pBuild the pitch book
- 7:00pDinner at the desk, turn comments from the VP
- 1:00aSend the revised deck, then wait for more comments
How to get in
Target school analyst recruiting
Duration
4 years
Cost
$40,000-$300,000
Credential
Bachelor's, typically finance or economics
- Attend a school the banks actively recruit from
- Maintain a high GPA and join finance clubs for deal experience
- Complete a sophomore or junior summer internship — this is the actual pipeline
- Convert the internship into a full-time analyst offer
Non-target breaking in
Duration
4-6 years
Cost
$40,000-$200,000
Credential
Bachelor's plus relentless networking
- Master technical interviews cold — modeling, valuation, accounting
- Network aggressively; hundreds of informational calls is the normal volume
- Target boutique and middle-market banks rather than bulge brackets
- Lateral to a larger bank after a year or two of deal experience
MBA associate route
Duration
2 years plus prior experience
Cost
$100,000-$250,000
Credential
MBA from a target program
- Work several years, ideally in finance-adjacent roles
- Complete an MBA at a school the banks recruit from
- Enter as an associate above the analyst class
- The standard route for career changers
What people love
- · Among the highest entry-level compensation anywhere
- · Elite exit opportunities into private equity and corporate finance
- · Extremely fast financial skill development
- · Direct exposure to major transactions
What wears people down
- · 80-100 hour weeks are routine, not exceptional
- · No control over your schedule or personal plans
- · Documented toll on health and relationships
- · Recruiting is dominated by a small set of target schools