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Investment banking is the most common entry point into high finance. These guides cover how to break in from any background, what analysts do day to day, how the major groups and bank types differ, and the exits the role leads to.
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Definition
The largest global investment banks — Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and peers — that advise on the biggest deals and hire the largest analyst classes. Contrasted with elite boutiques and middle-market firms.
Learn more →Investment banking, equity research and sales & trading are probably the three most common paths to starting a career in finance. They are all good industries, but the work is very different in each one.
Written by Ben ChonAnalysts build financial models, create pitch books and client presentations, run valuation analyses, and manage the day-to-day execution of live deals. The hours are long — 70 to 90+ per week is common — but it is the fastest way to learn corporate finance at scale.
It is competitive but learnable. The three levers that matter most are your school and GPA, relevant internships, and networking. Candidates from non-target schools break in every year by starting early, mastering the technicals, and networking relentlessly.
Bulge brackets are the largest full-service banks with global reach and huge deal flow. Elite boutiques are smaller advisory-only firms that often pay comparably and give analysts more responsibility on M&A. Middle-market banks sit between them, focused on smaller deals.
First-year analysts at major banks typically earn a base salary around $100K–$110K plus a bonus that can push total compensation to roughly $150K–$200K, depending on the bank and the year.
The most common exits are private equity, hedge funds, growth equity, corporate development, and startups. Two years as an analyst opens more doors than almost any other job for a 24-year-old.
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