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Investment Banker
Business & FinanceYou work 100-hour weeks helping companies buy other companies, go public, or raise billions of dollars. The pay is obscene, the hours are inhumane, and your entire social life exists inside a Bloomberg terminal and a conference room that smells like cold pizza. Analysts start at 22 and look 42 by the time they make associate. The golden handcuffs are real.
Salary Range
Low
$100k
Median
$175k
High
$400k
10-Year Growth
faster than average
US Workers
360K
Education
Bachelor's from a target school (MBA for advancement to senior roles)
Environment
indoor
Tools & Technical Skills
- ▸Financial modeling (DCF, LBO, M&A, accretion/dilution)
- ▸Bloomberg Terminal and PitchBook
- ▸SEC filings and prospectus preparation
- ▸Valuation methodologies (comparable companies, precedent transactions)
- ▸Debt and equity capital markets structuring
- ▸Excel modeling at advanced level
People & Mindset Skills
- ▸Work ethic and stamina
- ▸Client relationship management
- ▸Persuasion and presentation skills
- ▸Attention to detail under pressure
- ▸Networking
Learn the skills
Courses and certifications to get you job-ready
Debt and equity capital markets structuring
Excel modeling at advanced level
What you'll actually do
- 01Build financial models and pitch books until 2 AM because the managing director needs them 'first thing'
- 02Run DCF analyses, comparable company analyses, and precedent transaction analyses — the holy trinity
- 03Attend client meetings where you present work the associate did and the VP takes credit for
- 04Turn comments from senior bankers at 11 PM into revised decks by 6 AM
- 05Coordinate due diligence processes involving hundreds of documents nobody has time to read
- 06Miss every social event, family dinner, and weekend plan because 'the deal is closing'
Related Shifts
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