So it begins...

Dearest WSO users and contributory body,

It is the time of year where the graduating class, that received their offers last recruiting season, are jumping head first into the mysterious abyss of the investment banking universe. Many are in training, have just started, or are about to start on a 2 year long adventure that will change them (hopefully for the better) into passionate swash-buckling finance buccaneers, or deviously vindictive loathers regretfully wishing they had accepted that seemingly less prestigious F500 offer.

Many of us of had a multitude of varying perceptions of what Investment Banking that range across the spectrum. Between the movies Wall Street and American Psycho, to the book Monkey Business, to reading first hand experiences on WSO, we have all subconsciously conjured an illusive cloud of falsified truth. After the horror stories of 120 hour work weeks and chair throwing Managing Directors and the delightful perks of lavish comped dinners and endless armies of swimsuit models adhering to our every beckoning; most of us have landed right in the middle of naivety and absolute cluelessness of what our sorry souls have actually gotten into.

So for those of us who are new transitioners into this vast and elusive universe of financial wonder, how have you found your first/last couple of weeks? Has it measured up to your expectations? Has it fallen short or greatly surpassed? Did you start drinking heavily due to a malicious MD? Do you see yourself jumping ship without a life boat or have you found your lifelong calling?

This is an opportunity to share your beginning experiences of fret or fame in an attempt to inspire for indefinite eons or warn future generations of unsuspecting seals to be slaughtered.

So, how is it?

With sincere and best of the best regards,

THE PsYcHoLoGy

11 Comments
 
Best Response

A touch melodramatic, but it does appeal to the cynical romantic in me. You'll find out how you truly feel soon enough. At the end of the day it's a job. You have likely built up this image (evidenced by the superfluous description more fit for a screenplay) that it inevitably will not live up to, but it certainly has it's moments and is almost always entertaining. Very few other industries will give you the opportunity to meet and drink with billionaires or get screamed at by the former CFOs of companies from the Dow, but then again few other industries require you to take copious amounts of shit without being able to speak your mind or dish it back.

You will learn a lot about yourself and about finance, and even though the glory days are over we can still aspire to the bar set forth by LSO, "Do whatever it takes to keep the legend of Wall Street as it was truly intended to live on. When you think back on investment banking of the early 21st century, remember the heat—remember the passion. But mostly, remember the titans."

 

Distinctio tempore dolores et dolores. Mollitia est deserunt voluptates corporis. Expedita et provident eveniet ea ducimus molestiae. Et autem quibusdam deleniti.

Et dolores enim aut porro neque. Rerum deserunt illo repudiandae et. Vel quia ut numquam enim illo illo.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”