<p>100 hour work weeks, lack of sleep, zero free time, stress, lack of food, lack of life.</p>
<p>Instead you get 150K -1 MM.</p>
<p>All that money sounds great. But whats the point if you never have a chance to use it????</p>
<p>?_?</p>
<p>Retire early.</p>
<p>i'm greedy</p>
<p>Ask the same thing to doctors and researchers. It's the same for a lot of jobs.</p>
<p>Family friend retired at 35 and now just makes his living off personal investments spending 3-4 hours a day.</p>
<p>For me:
I m doing it for 2-3 years and then weighing my exit opportunities which will be endless (PE, HF, Top 5 MBA program)</p>
<p>"Instead you get 150K -1 MM."</p>
<p>No, not really. A tremendous amount of the salary earned by people in IB comes in the form of bonuses, which are tied to the productivity of the employer. I suspect this year many bankers will, in the context of an hourly wage, make less than many, many other professions. It's cyclical. I'd agree with the poster above me that the best thing about working in IB for several years are the exit opportunities.</p>
<p>Yeah, a lot of people will probably be offended by this comment, but at the beginning the money (150k-1MM all in) isn't anything great. After you make MD (or exit to a 2 & 20 shop), you can make as much in a year as you did in your first 10 combined. Of course, the odds are heavily against you, and 1/10 (or less) make it to MD.</p>
<p>whats MD (medicine doctor??) and 2&20 shop? can you elaborate how you would make a mil the first year?
and if it is medicine doctor what does this have to do with business?</p>
<p>MD is managing director. He is at the top. From what I know about banking, he will look like he is 70 when he is only 50. There are very few of these.</p>
<p>2/20 is probably referring to these sort of scheme where some rich old guy manages your *<strong><em>ing money and takes 2% whether or not he earns *</em></strong> and then take 20% of your profits if he does earn anything. You can earn a lot like this.</p>
<p>wait... i didnt know this forum existed!
pretty cool...
i dont know, i think i want to do something lucrative (of course) with my life but id rather not follow the physician path that so many chinese people do. plus, i cant let my passion for math go to waste.</p>
<p>Well isn't an MD just a position you get after you keep moving up?
I don't think you can start off as an MD, but you can start off as an ibanking analyst.
I mean MD is pretty close to CEO range too, leaving them surely with a high salary
But then you could say being a CEO of any company is more profitable than ibanking, but I dont think you can start off at an MD (can u?)or CEO for that matter (unless you start ur own business of course)</p>
<p>kmzizzle, </p>
<p>Managing Director -- from a general ranking perspective -- is the highest.</p>
<p>Think of it as: Analyst --> Associate --> Vice President --> Managing Director</p>
<p>The titles can vary by firm, but this is the general set-up.</p>
<p>It is premature to say that MD is pretty close to CEO range, as an individual could in fact develop a tier within the MD rank.</p>
<p>For example, an MD that runs the entire IBD division clearly has more sway than the MD who runs a group within IBD.</p>
<p>Additionally, at Goldman Sachs, they have what is called PMD (Partner Managing Director) which is essentially a Managing Director but who gets a larger piece of the firm's profits. A normal MD is referred internally as "MD Light."</p>
<p>Finally, 2/20 refers to how private equity and hedge funds charge fees.</p>
<p>2% management fee and 20% performance fee.</p>
<p>But isn't MD a position you cannot start out as?
CesareBorgia stated "at the beginning the money (150k-1MM all in) isn't anything great"
You can start out as an ibanking analyst and move up to associate within 2-3 years, but can you start out as an MD?
And he is talking like MD is an easy position and easy to get into, which I find hard to believe if they make 1m a year+ according to CesareBorgia.</p>
<p>You do not start off as an MD. You start off as an analyst if you are entering the business from an undergraduate program or as an associate if you just attained your MBA.</p>
<p>Attaining the MD level is not easy.</p>
<p>Investment Banking ranks essentially work as a pyramid -- fewer individuals reach the next level as they progress.</p>
<p>Also, I believe Cesare's comment: "at the beginning the money (150k-1MM all in) isn't anything great" was referring to total compensation for Non-MD investment bankers, hence the follow-up about moving to the buy-side.</p>
<p>well ibanking analysts at bb can make 60k + 60k bonus or more first year
That's pretty damn good for just graduating out of a 4 year
and you can move up within 3-4 years to 800k-1m
I think thats incredible, rather than "isn't anything great"</p>
<p>From an absolute perspective it is great; however, remember high finance attracts Type-A personalities (smart, hungry, and aggressive), and from a relative perspective, the buy-side is FAR more attractive.</p>
<p>Law school and getting into a law firm is a cakewalk compared making managing director at a major IB. But making 7 figures as an investment banker is a cakewalk compared to making 7 figures as a law firm partner.</p>
<p>You're 19.</p>
<p>LOL, love that comment luminaire...I swear I'm laughing my ass off right now hahahah</p>
<p>I did investment banking for a little over 2 years and I would say that the money isn't worth it in the beginning. As an analyst, you make 60K+bonus your first year, 70K+bonus your second year, and 80K+bonus your third year. Bonus will depend on the year you are working. If you are in a bull market, you'll probably make out pretty well even if you're not the top analyst. Last year, the top 2nd year analyst made 115K in bonus at my bank. Keep in mind, that this is all pretax income. Taxes will literally take more than 35% of your income. So, like I said, you shouldn't just do it for the money. Money is a great incentive, but shouldn't be the sole reason you do it. </p>
<p>You won't know if you want to do banking for a career until you actually try it. You may realize that you are really good at it and love the adrenaline of getting a deal done. You may find doing all the quantitative, technical analysis comes easy to you. You may find a sector that really piques your interest. Think of an investment banker as an agent. If you watch Entourage, Ari Gold has the exaggerated personality of an investment banker. It's very fast paced. A lot of wheeling and dealing goes on and the general motto is "do whatever it takes to get the job done." I think the reason anyone should get into it is for the EXPERIENCE. Even though that's pretty cliche, it's still very true. Investment banking will train you hardcore in finance and business in general. Think of it as a 2 year boot camp. And if you have i-banking experience on your resume, you will already prove to your future employers that you know how to work hard. You will learn a ton on the job and learn how to get things done quickly, build complex financial models, learn how to deal with clients, learn different financial products/services, as well as industries. Yes, you will have 100+ hour weeks, you will pull several allnighters in a row, you will drink coffee and red bull like no other. But it's not always like that. There are times (esp. now I bet) when you don't have much to do and you can get home before 10pm. Overall, I think banking was one of the best learning experiences in my life. I wouldn't go back into it, but it's definitely worth trying as your first or second job out of college.</p>