<p>how do you know people who go into law or medicine wont’ make more eventually?
your post has a lot of flaws and naiivity.</p>
<p>Actually I would definitely doubt that statement. Doctors and lawyers do not make close to the amounts ibankers make. Corporate lawyers work FOR ibankers. Some trial attorneys make as much as ibankers but they are miniscule compared to the amount of ibankers there are bringing in top money. It takes the highest paid doctors, cardiologists and neurosurgeons, around 8-10 years to even get ready to make money in the real world.
Its all about the advancement curve. In Ibanking the curve is much steeper than in law or medicine.</p>
<p>BTW you go to med school. You should know that there are quite a few surgeons working for around 80-90 hours out there. Most people also do not do medicine due to the pay they will recieve. There are much less circuitous ways of making more money than in medicine.</p>
<p>I agree. But it’s certainly possible to make a fine living in another field.
At the same time finance is rough, and you can more easily be fired in ibanking than most other sought after professions. That was one thing that really scared me about the field. You can start out making a killing and suddenly you are unemployed and can’t find a job for a long time, and it all depends upon connections. It’s pretty scary.
The other thing is that a lot of posters here are 16-17 year olds who say/convince themselves that “LOL 90 hours a week for a few years isn’t so bad” because they are teenagers who have no clue what they are talking about and about to get into until they actually experience it. It’s rough, the people are unpleasant and the worklife and social life is very unpleasant. it’s good for them to know this, I think.</p>
<p>While Doctors and lawyers do make good livings for themselves Investment Bankers on the average make more money and have the potential to make more money then any doctor or lawyer would. That is just the nature of the IB profession.</p>
<p>For example, when a new expensive car like a Ferrari or Rolls-Royce comes out howcome you never hear that it will be the sign of the doctor or lawyer but instead the rap star, invesment banker or pro athlete.</p>
<p>Doctors and lawyers though certainly can make a good amount of money in their professions.</p>
<p>Doctors have to work ridiculous hours during residency, sometimes 36 hours straight. Young lawyers at top firms also have to deal with terrible hours. Every high paying profession requires a lot of hours in the beginning of a career.</p>
<p>they aren’t allowed to work 24 straight hours anymore. I think it’s a break after 12 hours now.</p>
<p>Actually when the new cars come out the traders get first dips ;).</p>
<p>And yes I think that most people here do not understand the amount of work 90 hours is.</p>
<p>I read that in your 1st years are very intense but once you are in a higher position you have much more control of your hours…I think thats why dunkaroo said “sacrifice your prime years (23-30)”…</p>
<p>Doctors spend like 15 years total in premed/med school getting the training nessesary 4 their proffession… you can do ibank right outta college…altho a lot of Ibankers return for their MBA…</p>
<p>yup now if you want to advance in IB the m.b.a will almost certainly be a requirement. Yes, it is true that your prime years are often sacrificed in IB if you plan to stay at the top. To reach the level where your hours are a lot more flexible generally takes 3-5 years if you are truly amazing. More likely it will take 5-7. So figure you start when you are 22 or 23 by the time your hours are reduced and your schedule is made more flexible you will be anywhere from 28-30. </p>
<p>Remember some time will probably lost when you return to get your M.B.A.</p>
<p>That is of course if you can survive for those first grueling years.</p>
<p>It sure isn’t easy making it to the very top of IB and that is why the CEO’s of these top IB’s like Goldman, Merrill, Credit Suisse, Citigroup etc… make in some cases more then $20 million a year after all their extra compensations and bonuses are added up. </p>
<p>So now I think everyone knows what IB is really about and what it takes to reach the top. Also I now think people realize what their odds are of making to the top. </p>
<p>With all this said remember what you are getting into and if you can stick along long enough on the ride you might find yourself at the top (you have a very slim chance of doing so) but good luck :)</p>
<p>what’s the big deal? work for an i-bank for 2 or 3 three years, quit, and then get your MBA at a top 12 school and then go back as an associate, work for an additional 3-4 years and become a manager.</p>
<p>i-banking probably involves a lot of politics - you need to get around this stuff by being friendly, communicative, hard-working, and take advantage of resources and opportunities. Tackling and advancing in the business world isn’t like trying to become a world-class surgeon. </p>
<p>Anyways, my talk to is cheap since I’m still yet to work for an i-bank.</p>
<p>"Tackling and advancing in the business world isn’t like trying to become a world-class surgeon. "</p>
<p>Whys that? Have you ever even stepped foot in an ibank before. You seem to talk a lot about it…If you think 1-3 years working 90 hours a week is “nothing,” I am led to believe you have no idea what you are in for. Consider how short life is, and that by being an ibanker, you are effectively throwing away years of your life, especially in terms of your health.</p>
<p>Eternity_Hope if you can work 90 hours a week for 2 to 3 years you will have accomplished what very few have the patience to do. Of course you can make millions in IB, as you can in many other professions. The key difference in IB is you have a much greater chance of making those millions at a far younger age then you would in other professions.</p>
<p>Being friendly, hardworking, knowledgeable is something many people can do well. What you will learn in an IB is those who have the rare ability to combine all these traits with unbelievable work ethics combined with results that have a profound impact on the company as a whole will be the ones sitting in the CEO position.</p>
<p>There are many graduates of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT and Stanford that are hardworking, friendly, communicative and many are also brilliant. However, there are an extreme few that can work 90 hour weeks for 3 years, still remain friendly and produce results that consistently are groundbreaking. Take that combined with A LOT OF LUCK and you might be a CEO yourself if you can manage to do all those well and have some of the best luck around.</p>
<p>My point was that if your not advancing in three or four years to an associate position, you can resign and get an MBA from a top school and come back and join as an associate. Many i-banks welcome individuals with an MBA from Wharton, Harvard, Stanford, Stern, Ross, Columbia to join as associates. Some don’t.</p>
<p>Either way, it’s very possible to advance up the ranks with the power of education. That’s all I’m saying.</p>
<p>It’s not easy but it’s not the hardest thing in the world is it? I’d say working in an i-bank is preferable to putting up with medical school, don’t you? You work in med school for 4 years and it can be miserable and extremely intense - what is to come during the harsh interning years is even worse. </p>
<p>The thing is, med. school isn’t just hard - it’s intellectual meaning you have to be smart and very sharp. I-banking isn’t exactly the most intellectual job around. It’s not like advanced data analysis and analytical modeling using high level mathamatics - that is another field called financial engineering. That’s another story.</p>
<p>Hell, it’s worth a try. That’s why I’ll be probably be interning for Lehman Brothers this summer.</p>
<p>“The thing is, med. school isn’t just hard - it’s intellectual meaning you have to be smart and very sharp. I-banking isn’t exactly the most intellectual job around. It’s not like advanced data analysis and analytical modeling using high level mathamatics - that is another field called financial engineering. That’s another story.”</p>
<p>Hey, if you think ibanking could be your thing, then go for it. The difference I see is that most med students love their field, so the 60 hours+ of residency is not as bad because it is for an ultimate goal. The only goal in ibanking seems to be money, which is kind of sad. Financial engineering is another interested field but it looks like it will soon be saturated. I guess the one true meritocratic field in business is trading, but thats something you can kind of do alone. That would be the only field in business I would enter…</p>
<p>IB is very intellectualy demanding. Sure it may not be as demanding as med. school but when a great many of your peers are from Ivy League schools and they managed to finish with great grades while at those top schools IB can become a very stressful and competitive environment.</p>
<p>Remember everyone is after the same exact thing as you. They want to advance up the ranks just as you do.</p>
<p>Yes, yes most people i-bank for money and that is the end goal. This is why I’m majoring in chemical engineering so that I have other options if I get sick of banking in the future.</p>
<p>Actually most people do ibanking in order to move on to the more lucrative buyside firms. Ibanks have a tough time retaining the best people. The best traders move to or start other funds. The M&A guys go off to work at the PE/LBO/VC shops.</p>
<p>NYUsternman also made an important point. If you like what you do its not absolutely unbearable. An important point to keep in mind.</p>
<p>If you love having no social life for the first few years then you can by all means go into IBanking. Yes, most people will go into IBanking for the money and if they are really good in IB they will go and join or start their own hedge fund or venture capitalist group etc…</p>