<p>Which jobs would you say are more intellectually demanding, I-Banking jobs or engineering jobs? In general...</p>
<p>lol engineering…by far</p>
<p>banking is demanding in it’s own way</p>
<p>Really? All of those intellectual engineers should switch over, they’re being way underpaid.</p>
<p>As awped said, IB is demanding in its own way but it is far from an intellectual job. I would argue that, at the junior level, investment banking is about as anti-intellectual as you can get. There is nothing innovative or shatteringly philosophical about spreading comps for a pitch. Bankers are monkeys - nothing more, nothing less.</p>
<p>However, I see trading and investing as a much more cerebral type of work. Trading is all about developing a view on the market and expressing that view to gain alpha. Investing is about having the vision and ingenuity to find and unlock value.</p>
<p>Hmmm most think engineer jobs are more intellectually demanding? Hmom do you think otherwise?</p>
<p>Yes. While I do agree the first few years in IB don’t necessarily require great intellect, to get anywhere in the business, especially in areas like M & A, corp finance, etc., intellect is essential. These folks don’t make big bucks for doing rote work.</p>
<p>Probably 2% of the engineering jobs in the world are not rote according to my DS, a grad student at MIT.</p>
<p>Consider the vast difference in pay between the average engineer and the average banker. How smart could the engineers be? J/k, a little family joke my younger kids use to harass their engineer brother.</p>
<p>Trading is for quantitative minds from top math/eng/econ programs.</p>
<p>Sales is for somewhat less mathematical people who have that rare ability to sell ice to eskimoes.</p>
<p>M&A is for people who have in 4 years learned to make a powerpoint presentation all by themselves.</p>