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The prospect of wearing a suit and helping businesses to fund their vision appears fulfilling until you realize this could be gruesome. Investment bankers have a challenging job, sometimes requires investment bankers to put in long hours, and chase revenue goals. It is tiresome and stressful. The salary, perks, and other monetary rewards compensate for the amount of effort required to put in the job, but investment banking career is nothing short of a high-frequency roller coaster ride.
As an investment banking analyst, entry-level role, you can earn between $75,000 and $96,000 a year.
If you aspire to become an investment banker, here are some tips to truly see if you want to get into the job.
- Ensure that investment banking is the right option for you
Today investment bankers come from a range of backgrounds and may use their transferrable skills down the line to join another line of work – research, consulting, trading, etc.But as pointed above, investment banking can be mind-numbingly excruciating. The Guardian in a survey found out the role of investment banking fits people with certain characteristics. The research took into account the subject of choice of respondents and the fact that respondents were looking for challenging roles.
- Choose an investment banking role
Everyone working at an investment bank is not an investment banker. Though there are different roles, there are similarities, but each one differs in its skillset. There’s an operations side too. In the operations team, you would be handling financial transactions happening at your bank. This requires you to have strong numerical and analytical skills.
You could also work on mergers and acquisitions. This would require you to be good at negotiation and work on under tight guidelines. You could be a corporate investment banker advising companies on their investments. As you would be speaking to businessmen and leaders, you will need good interpersonal skills.
- Prepare for an investment banking career
Most investment banks hire MBA graduates who have previous experience working in the capital market or finance-related roles. Investment banks rarely hire fresh graduates for entry-level roles, instead, they choose from interns. Most investment banks like JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs offer summer training and internships in investment banking.
Interns have the same responsibilities as analysts and associates.
A bachelor’s degree in finance or any mathematics-related subjects like economics, statistics, etc. prepares you well. Universities offer financial market specialized courses. If you have already made your mind, opt for courses related to financial market.
Further, if you have a non-finance related degree, taking investment banking certifications helps. Investment banks and other finance-related organizations consider certifications valuable.
- Take an investment banking internship
Investment banks rarely hire fresh college graduates. Either they hire interns for full-time roles or prefer MBA graduates who have spent some years working in finance. So it is challenging to enter investment banking straight out of college. In terms of exposure, internships are really rewarding. Additionally, internships aren’t easy to come by. So strive to take an internship.
