Jonathan1

We're doing a career project at my school and part of it is to interview someone. We took a career test and one of the results was an investment banker, so I decided to do it on that.

What type of skills do you need to complete your job?

What type of training is required for your job?

What advice would you have for someone aspiring to become an investment banker?

How do you think your job will be different in the future?

What was your first job?

How did you get the job that you have now?

What is the best part of your job?

What is the worst part of your job?

What do recruiters look for in an investment banking applicant?

What are some similar careers to investment banking?

What are some exit opportunities?

What are the top investment banking firms?

What are the top undergraduate and business schools to become an investment banker?

What is the average salary for an analyst in a top IB firm?

What should one major in while in college if they want to become an investment banker?

What classes should a high school student take in order to prepare for investment banking?

What are some ways that high school students could gain experience in investment banking?

Thanks.. and BTW you don't have to answer all of the questions.

mattistotle

good luck finding an i-banker with enough time to come here haha

neutralnuke

^what he said

but try ibankingoasis.com

Jonathan1

haha I tried that but totally got attacked.

http://www.ibankingoasis.com/node/6178#comment-53659

Jonathan1

How do you guys think I could get an interview from an investment banker? I can't really find any email addresses for them.

dearsiryes

Dude...you're better off talking with a receptionist or something. Those guys are right. Either you tone down your list, or suffer by not talking to the right people.

That list is HUGE.

mattistotle

Plus you're in HS, you're not going to get an internship for years.

But go to a really top tier school, major in finance or econ, get a high GPA get really good interview skills, get leadership positions, memorize stupid brain teasers, and you're on your way. You probably wont get an i-banking interview till Junior Year (some all stars from Ivy's will get them in sophomore year) so all that matters for you is that you go to a get college at this point.

dhl3

I'm not an Ibanker but before you go ahead and interview real IBers you should clarify some things. You want to make it as easy and simple as possible for the responder to answer.

All these questions are really vague. Which division are you talking about? M&A? S&T? Quants? Deriv? Investment Banking is not a single job... it is comprised of many components. IB is an umbrella term for all those activites, and each activity requires different skill... some area require more computer programming skill than the others whereas some area require heavy quantitative analysis skill along with Accounting... Your questions are as vague as "How can I succeed in college".

FYI, getting into Ibanking is really hard. I read this somewhere... A Wharton Graduate who graduated in 4 years with simultaneous Bachelors and Masters degree with 3.9+ GPA only managed to get an Ibanking position after 8 long sessions of interview. And this is someone who graduated top of the class in the World's best Undergraduate Business School with Master's Degree. Hope you have a better picture of how hard it is to get a position at an Ibank,

mattistotle

to be fair, Ibanks don't like people who get masters before working in the field for a while...they start as associates instead of analysts, so they have to risk 3x more money on them...if you get 3.9 undergrad from wharton you'll get an analyst job anywhere you want.

"M&A? S&T? Quants? Deriv? Investment Banking is not a single job.." no love for restructuring ? haha

tima89

dude, I hear it used to be 15 interviews at Goldman, and I'm pretty sure the number does not depend on applicant.

kotchian123

I just read how they attacked him on OASIS. it's hilarious actually. no offense jonathan.

hallerbigballer

its funny because its pathetic, why is a 14 year old worrying about a full time job 8-9 years from now? *** is up with that. "you should worry about cheerleaders" that is a small truth, maybe you should listen to these people you "admire"

Jonathan1

It's for a career project for school. We had to do this huge powerpoint thing and we have to have an interview for it, too.

dearsiryes

To the OP: PLEASE HEED THE ADVICE ON THIS COLUMN.

1)Shorten the list
2)Determine what aspect of investment banking you are going to ask about
3A)Refine your questions, i.e. no "what did you do to get your job" type stuff
3B)Research the field and determine more specific questions. Most of the "answers" to your questions can be found on vault.com

sweet

This might help....this is a typical day of an Investment Banking Analyst

For I-banking analysts, it's all about the computer screen. Analysts, especially those in their first year, spend countless hours staring at their computer monitors and working until midnight or all night. Building models, creating "comps," (see sidebar) and editing pitchbooks fills the majority of their time. Many analysts do nothing but put together pitchbooks, and never see the light of day. Hard working and talented analysts, however, tend to find their way out of the office and become involved in meetings related to live transactions.
A typical week for an analyst might involve the following:
Monday
Up at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, the analyst makes it into the office by 9. Mornings often move at a snail's pace, so the analyst builds a set of comparable company analysis (a.k.a. comps, see sidebar) and then updates the latest league table data, which track how many deals I-banks have completed. Lunch is a leisurely forty-five minutes spent with other analysts at a deli a few blocks away. The afternoon includes a conference call with a company considering an IPO, and at 5, a meeting with a VP who drops a big model on the analyst's lap. Dinner is delivered at 8 and paid for by the firm, but this is no great joy - it is going to be a late night because of the model. At midnight, the analyst has reached a stopping point and calls a car service to give him a free ride home.
Tuesday
The next day is similar, but the analyst spends all day working on a pitchbook for a meeting on Wednesday that a banker has set up. Of course, the banker waited until the day before the meeting to tell the analyst about it. After working all night and into the morning, including submitting numerous changes to the 24-hour word processing department, the analyst finally gets home at 5 a.m., which gives him enough time for a two-hour nap, a shower, and a change of clothes.
Wednesday
Unfortunately, there is a scheduled drafting session out of town on Wednesday relating to another transaction, and the flight is at 8 a.m. Having slept only two hours, the analyst reads his draft of the prospectus on the plane, and arrives with a VP at the law firm's office at 11 a.m., armed with some comments to point out to the group. Many hours and coffees later, the VP and analyst get back on the plane, where the analyst falls dead asleep. After the flight touches down, the analyst returns to the office at 8 p.m. - and continues modeling for a few hours. At midnight, the analyst heads home.
Thursday
The analyst is roped into doing another pitchbook, this one for a merger deal. He frantically works to complete a merger model: gathering information, keying in data, and working with an associate looking over his shoulder. By the time he and the associate have finished the analysis, it is 1 a.m.
Friday
Friday is even worse. The merger model is delivered to the hands of the senior VP overseeing the work, but returned covered in red ink. Changes take the better part of the day, and progress is slow. Projections have to be rejiggered, more research found, and new companies added to the list of comps. At 7 p.m. on Friday, the analyst calls his friends to tell them he won't make it out tonight - again. At 11 p.m., he heads home.
Saturday
Even Saturday requires nearly 10 hours of work, but much of the afternoon the analyst waits by the phone to hear from the VP who is looking at the latest version of the models.
Sunday
No rest on Sunday. This day involves checking some numbers, but the afternoon, thankfully, is completely free for some napping and downtime.
The analyst adds up a total of maybe 90 hours this week. It could have been much worse: at some firms, analysts typically work more than 100 hours per week.