<p>Back again in this section of CC, I still need some career/major advice. I thought I would definitely do accounting, but I very recently became interested in investment banking. I know I-bankers get a ridiculous amount of money, but I don't want that fact to get in the way of choosing the right career for me. Are there any more reasons to become an I-banker over a CPA? Then again, are there good reasons to become a CPA over an I-banker? I've been to vault.com but still need some help figuring out the disadvantages/advantages of each career. I want to know the characteristics each career demands and how satisfied people are in each job. If I major in accounting, could I one day become an I-banker, or do I have to specifically major in finance? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Any comment will be appreciated. Anyone?</p>
<p>Investment banking=no life.
80+ Hours</p>
<p>i am actually shadowing an investment banker that works at edward jones. i'm very thrilled about this opportunity and can answer a lot of your questions. Investment banking is broken up into 3 parts:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Financials- these are the people that do all the statistical work and determine if a stock is good or bad. also called analysts.</p></li>
<li><p>Personal- this requires wonderful sales skills because they deal mostly with people getting ready to retire. therefore, you have to be great with people and be able to switch a conversation from the person's 401K to talking about their grandchildren. this part of the job does not require much traveling.</p></li>
<li><p>Corporate- this job also requires great sales skills but not in the same way "personal" does. you have to be much more serious and professional because a lot of the time you will be talking to presidents of companies. no talking about grandchildren or golf here! this job requires a lot of traveling and most corporate IB work in NYC.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>the guy i shadow works as a "Personal" investment banker. he said that he gets paid soley on commission. I, personally would love to work in the corporate aspect of investment banking. i am just not the type of person who is that outgoing and friendly to go knocking on people's doors. i am much more serious, but can still close a deal. i would also find the financials part too boring, just working with numbers all day. but anyways... i hope this helped. =)</p>
<p>i just saw that you asked about majors.. well i just asked him today what it is i should major in to become an investment banker. he suggested i get into the business college of the university i wish to attend and recommended majoring in finance. he majored in economics. is accounting part of the business college at your school? if so, you will be fine. if not, i'm sure you will still be fine because he said that it doesn't really matter that much what you major in (except if it's teaching or medecine or something way off) but more about how well you do on the interview, your previous experience, and how you carry yourself. he said that they don't normally hire recent college grads but he was fortunate enough to get hired at the age of 22. so obviously it's not impossible.</p>
<p>Edward Jones is an investment MANAGEMENT firm. At an Investment bank there are different broad sectors. Primary ones include: S&T, M&A, Merchant Banking (PE stuff), some have affiliated hedge funds and propriety trading, private wealth management/investment management services. </p>
<p>Investment Management firms are very, very different from investment banks.</p>
<p>Just look up some ads for employing investment bankers and you'll get the gist. As someone has already noted it isn't as glorious as you think. There is a ton of work they do for the money they receive, a few have noted around 100 hours a week of work. If you are up to it then go for it, gotta tell you the whole story though.</p>