Frank
Los Angeles, CA
Male, 35
“It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
As a liberal arts grad with mountains of debt and molehills of direction, I took an analyst job at a top NYC investment bank. Neck-deep in spreadsheets and working around the clock, I fought to keep my head above water in a sea of brilliant, khaki-clad sociopaths. While the money and education were great, I quickly learned how the finance world really works... and I wanted no part of it. After 9/11, I left for good.
While I'd love to say, "Absolutely!", the truth is, it's tough. Not impossible, but tough.
Investment banks look for the smartest and most hardworking candidates, and, rightly or wrongly, education pedigree is a big part of that screening. The majority of analysts come from top-tier private schools, as well as a handful from top-tier public institutions with good finance programs such as UVA, Michigan, and UNC. Assuming that your school doesn't fall into the categories above, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of getting in the door.
The first step is obvious: identify the banks you're interested in and... Read More +
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Every time my desk phone rang, my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. Any one of those calls could mean I would be chained to my desk all night. New projects frequently surfaced late in the day. If your phone rang at 6pm, it was often a staffer calling about an "emergency" project that needed to get done that night, come hell or high water. And you had zero say in the matter. So, at the risk of beating a dead horse, the real "fear" all goes back to the unpredictability of schedule. Don't get me wrong, everyone in every job at every company has bad days at work, but typically they can at least gauge when their day is likely... Read More +
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This varies widely. But on average, the oldest full-time execs I saw were in their early to mid-50s.
A banker's retirement age (much like that of any profession) really depends on what his motivations are. Some get into the field thinking they'll work their tails off for 20-25 years, accumulate a ton of money, and retire relatively young. But the problem is, many of those same people continually upgrade their lifestyles, and those lifestyles require that they keep working.
In other cases, some simply get addicted to the money and stay on as long as the banks will have them. Once you reach the most senior ranks, the day-to-day... Read More +
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It's funny – one can major in underwater basket-weaving in college and get an investment banking job after graduation, but if someone's a few years removed from college and has no finance background, it's significantly tougher. The advice I typically give to those with no finance background looking to make a career-switch into finance is to consider business school. It can be an expensive proposition, but it does legitimately qualify you for an entirely new line of work (in this case, banking/finance). Furthermore, you can intern during your time in school and get a better sense of whether the transition is for you.
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Birthday Party Clown
OK seriously, how DOES the clown car thing work?
Help Desk Technician
Do the stats actually back up the "Mac's never get viruses and crash way less than PCs" thing?
Sushi Chef
Is there THAT much difference in quality between the fish served at mid-range vs high-end places?
I’ve been out of the game for awhile, but to the best of my knowledge, there haven’t been any real movements toward taming the schedules of junior bankers. I always thought one seemingly obvious solution (or partial solution) would be to allow junior bankers to arrive at the office later than the typical 9am start-time. Perhaps 12 noon. The reason being – the majority of meetings among senior bankers (where most of the work originates) happen over the course of the day. So it’s typical that new marching orders aren’t handed down to the junior bankers until mid- to late-afternoon, and often that work can take until the wee hours to complete.... Read More +
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They start by putting on their underwear, then pants, followed by socks...
I kid I kid. Assuming you're asking how they bankers dress for work, the quick answer is the higher end of "business casual." Slacks, button-down shirts, nice shoes. An important client meeting might require a suit and/or tie.
That said, up until about 2000-2001, ALL bankers had to wear suits and ties every day. But that requirement was loosened during the dot-com boom. When the boom hit, investment banks were looking for ways to attract and retain top talent, many of whom were defecting to the shorts-and-sandals world of Silicon Valley. That need to... Read More +
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After 2-3 years as a junior banker, you've got the skill set to get into innumerable lines of business outside of banking. The following are the most common "exit paths" I've seen over the years:
– Move to the operating side. For example, if you were in the Technology arm of your investment bank, you could easily transition into Corporate Development, M&A, Finance, or Strategy at a tech company. The same goes for any other area of focus (e.g. Media, Manufacturing, Financial Institutions).
– Other areas of finance. If you still like finance but don't like banking, you could transition to a hedge fund, asset management, and... Read More +
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