<p>Why? Please be explicit. THANKS!</p>
<p>Define Best
Best as in Prestige
Best as in Money
or Best as in Working hours...</p>
<p>In terms of Prestige, "the Firm." That means Goldman Sachs. Check the Vault 50 list of Prestige rankings or the snapshots. (<a href="http://www.vault.com%5B/url%5D">www.vault.com</a>)</p>
<p>By that I mean best on any of the fronts, pay, hours, work culture, benefits, opportunity for advancement, travel, hiring, ANYTHING. I'm trying to compare the pros and cons at working at a number of bulge bracket firms. Any insider scoop for that matter will be helpful.</p>
<p>It all depends on which group you are working with within each firm. i.e. Deutsche Bank has a great financial sponsors group but they aren't stellar for adivsory services. Most of your pay at an ibank will come from your bonus, which depends on how much money you can bring in for the firm so the group is essential. I'm not very familiar with the Sales and Trading side but I would also imagine that some firms have strong Derivatives Desks etc. You have to be more specific.</p>
<p>in terms of prestige, it goes </p>
<ol>
<li>Goldman, ML, Morgan Stanley</li>
<li>JP Morgan, Lehman, Citi, Deutsche, Credit Suisse and other big names...etc.</li>
<li>Banc of America (lol)</li>
<li>No-names</li>
</ol>
<p>Best in terms of money?</p>
<p>Of course it all depends on department/group.</p>
<p>Let's say Private Equity is definitely above retail banking. Merchant banking is above a real estate group, etc.</p>
<p>Vault has their own prestige ranking that has it as GS, MS, LEH, CITI, CS, ML, etc.</p>
<p>Banc of America Securities is higher ranked. You get paid more at the smaller firms many times, but GS is paying better than market value right now.</p>
<p>futurenyustudent, if you are looking for strictly money, then GS will perhaps match that criteria. However, each individual is going to range based on just how much the associates liked you that year, how was the economy, what was overall team performance, etc. </p>
<p>I'd try to look at a company and try to find the one you best find a niche in. If you intend to be working 80-100 hours within a specific group, you better want to feel like you're part of the group. </p>
<p>However, at a certain point, especially when you're comparing a salary of 115k(MS) to one of 130k (GS), it doesn't matter much. If you're really concerned with money, be more concerned with your best method to attain a top MBA degree and see your options from there.</p>
<p>I find it amusing that various students think it's easy to break into banking. If luck is with you, most likely you'll have two to three options. That's IF you're lucky. Many students are pleased to even have one offer.</p>