Summer Associate vs. Summer Analyst

I spent last summer with a BB as an Associate and I found the experience to be fairly similar to what was asked of the Summer Analysts. As far as modeling is concerned, they won't expect you to be a rock star...but they will expect you to be comfortable with a model (especially after they cover modeling as part of the week of training). Fitting into teams was pretty seamless. They stuck me on a couple of teams where I had another experienced junior banker (either a 2nd/3rd yr analyst or a 2nd/3rd yr associate) to help me get the feel of running a deal. So as worked was passed down from the powers that be, we would split the work up accordingly. Expectations for success include having a great attitude, getting along with the other junior bankers and really taking an interest in whatever you're doing (i.e. - ask questions to understand the "why" of the things that you're doing). Other than that, the other tips you mentioned in your OP will serve you well...

I would say half of what you learn is the exact same is being a SAnalyst. The main difference is you get paid more. I mean there is only so much you can do in 10-12 weeks.

Thanks, that's pretty much what I figured as far as similarities. Any noteworthy differences between analyst/associate level? i.e. they expect summer associates to do X that they don't expect analysts to do (or vice-versa)?

Considering you're doing your summer analyst stint now, how would you know what the associate experience is like?

And this is in fact why I haven't written about Summer Associate experiences separately - you're basically just a Summer Analyst except you get paid more. :)

You're not expected to be proficient at modeling or anything, but you are expected to be more mature and more capable of leading and managing... but you will not actually manage FT Analysts or anything since they know more than you do. But you might, for example, work with summer analysts on projects and have someone full-time watch over you.

Last year a few Summer Associates helped out on pitches and other projects but they were really more like summer analysts... one difference is that Associates will get to go to meetings more often, or at least they did in my office.

Most of the same advice applies; I can't think of anything offhand that would be given to Summer Associates but not Summer Analysts. However, some of the more gruntwork-oriented tasks such as profiles, taking notes etc. might just be given to the Summer Analysts. That's the main difference I can think of, though again it varies from office to office and bank to bank.

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Thanks dosk, nice to know that Associates get to attend more meetings/pitches and do slightly less grunt work. The better pay is a plus too. The maturity/leadership thing makes sense too, although I figured that it was unlikely to actually lead a deal team or anything.

Thanks everyone for the info.

I wouldn't say you do less grunt work. I'd say as a summer associate, you'll be doing more grunt work than the FT analyst. The grunt work is what makes you better and faster. Basically what dosk and masemrder said above is correct. You'll get staffed with an experienced junior on all your deals. If you're staffed with a 2nd or 3rd year analyst, don't expect to be doing any less grunt work.

However, compared to the summer analysts, you'll be handled with less of the "kid gloves" (this can be good and bad - good if you do well, bad if you fuck up). That means while the summer analyst is sitting behind the analyst while he/she works on the model and learns by osmosis, the summer associate will probably sit behind the analyst and once the base model is built, the summer associate may be given some modeling responsibility. For instance, I once had to leave for a weekend towards the end of the summer, so in the 3 or 4 hours before I left for the airport I set up a basic LBO model for the summer associate and she ran with it for the entire weekend. This was an extreme case because a) she was very good and b) there was a very good 3rd year associate on the deal, as well. That being said, I would have never given that kind of responsibility to a summer analyst.

Thanks for clarifying, GameTheory.

I guess we all have different definitions of grunt work. I was excited to be spending less time doing irrelevant things (e.g. getting coffee, filing, making copies, etc. — my definition of grunt work). To me modeling (or helping model) would definitely not fall into this category.

I think it'd be interesting to see what a summer associate who was in banking as an analyst pre-MBA (albeit not in NY)would be tasked with, seeing as a lot of the work would be familiar to him already (that would be my position by then).

Nobody in banking makes their summers (analyst or associate) get coffee or file things...this isn't the trading floor.

summer associate = summer analyst

we staff them the same way on the same types of projects. the worst thing a summer associate can do to blow himself up aside from actually f'ing something up, is to try to be a "real" associate to a FT analyst who's already been there for more than a year