<p>Well, I will have to stand up and say that I disagree slightly with caleb when he says that MIT is not an I-banking hotspot. I suppose it depends on how we define 'hotspot'. True, MIT is not as powerful of an I-banking gateway as, say, Harvard or Wharton is. However, MIT-Sloan is a highly respected finance powerhouse, and Sloanies are not nerds. Ibanks are in fact one of the major employers at MIT, especially at the Sloan School. Speaking of the Sloan school, in 2002, about 25% of all Sloan MBA graduates, and something like 10-20% Sloan bachelor's degree recipients took jobs in investment banking or brokerages. And that's just the Sloan School - many other MIT students from other majors also take jobs in I-banking. I would also point out that John Thain, head of the New York Stock Exchange, did his undergrad in EE at MIT. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, I do agree with the basic point that social skills and simple "shmoozing" of clients is a critical skill in I-banking. A lot of I-banking success has to do with your ability to land clients, or in other words, salesmanship. You may be brilliant, you may be able to work like a horse, but if you can't bring in new business, you're not going to go very far in Ibanking. Moreover, it's one thing to know what the right answer is. It's an entirely different thing to convince other people that your answer is right. So again, it has to do with personal skills, communication, and so forth. </p>
<p>Now, to answer Lbtg47's question. No, it is not common for PhD's to get jobs in banking. However, it has been done, most notably in the financial research division, but other divisions too. The complex financial models that lots of Ibanks use were formulated by people with PhD's in mathematics, computer science, physics, finance, etc. </p>
<p>Yes, you can also get an associate job after getting your PhD, just like you can also get an associate job right after getting a law degree (which is why some people call the law degree the "alternative method of getting to Wall Street", but I digress). But I would caution you that, first of all, it has to be an elite PhD. A PhD in physics from Harvard, MIT, or Stanford might get you to Wall Street, but a PhD from SouthEast Sesame Street University will probably not. Secondly, it's still a very tough road to hoe. In an MBA program, you will be in an environment where it is easy for you to find out how to get a job in Ibanking. The exhibits and fairs will be there, there will be lots of other students who are trying to get into Ibanking (hence giving you lots of opportunities to learn about the process), there will be lots of students who have already been in Ibanking as analysts, the B-school profs will be able to direct you to useful resources, etc.. So basically the entire structure is conducive to an Ibanking job search. In a PhD program, less of that supporting infrastructure will be available to you. You will not be in the loop, you will not be surrounded by lots of other people who want to get into Ibanking, few of your profs will be able to help you with your job search, etc. Basically, it's a steeper hill to climb.</p>
<p>If I were you, and I was interested in ultimately going to I-banking, I would seriously consider working as an analyst for a year or two, just to see if you like it. If you find out you don't like it, then you can quit and go back to get your PhD. Plenty of people who work as analysts find out that they just don't like Ibanking.</p>