52 Comments
 

This isn't specific to WSO, but I detest the term "Rockstar Analyst." Sorry gents, but we're in a boring, rugged, and mostly sweaty industry. Please stop trying to make it sound glamorous. Nothing quite 'rockstar' about cranking numbers on Excel all day and working anxiety-inducing hours.

 

“Don’t look back” is also overused when discussing school x vs. school y.

 

Everything is good in moderation.

WSO has a bunch of overachievers who consider anything less than being top 0.001% in the world to be embarrassing.

Eg hating your life and doubting yourself because GS/MS/JPM rejected you and you are “STUCK” with CS/UBS type of bank. If that isnt complete BS idk what is.

I rant about this often and my advice is, again, to take everything in moderation. Looooooots of life-changing, useful info but also lots of BS

Tl;dr im a bit off topic but Prestige.

made new unrelated account - dont reply or message as i never use it. 
 
Most Helpful

"Hey guys considering applying to these firms could you rank them based on lifestyle, comp, dealfow, hours, pay, etc: proceeds to name 15 banks that work on very different deals, focus on different parts of the market, different cities, etc

or the "Hey so haven't heard back from HR in like 30 minutes after the interview, am I going to get hired? Did they like me? Did I do well? Should I follow up with HR? Should I ask my contact what the status is? Anything I can do to make sure I get selected? Should I visit the office and ask? Should I write a letter?" and on and on and on

 

Those guys who use acronyms to look cool. I get that it’s easier to shorten phrases like “Goldman Sachs: Technology, Media and Telecomms”, but honestly these guys think throwing a couple of choice acronyms suddenly makes the author seem all cool and shit. Especially when it’s someone not yet in the industry asking a genuine question.

“I’m at GS TMT, and I cannot stress how important it is that ur from a HSW background. I interned at HL, GS, MS, JPM, DB (mostly worked on M&A although also did a bit of RX and LevFin) all at once. I practised sitting in front of a screen for 29 hours a day and I literally invented DCM and the entire concept of PE. To get back to your question of whether or not bankers get a decent work/life balance, I earn 50k a day so fuck u lol lmao rofl.

Ps. Fuck Jefferies.”

The average guy would have a very hard time figuring this out, so please for the love of god, give simple answers to simple questions.

 

A banker can't do that since a banker's career is essentially taking something very simple and over complicating it so that they can convince potential customers to hire them to deal with this very "complex" problem.

 

Spot on. At least 50% of finance is confusing terminology and unnecessary complication

 

I wish there was a way to turn on notifications for a post without this, but right now it’s the best way

 

“I go a target (Wharton/Columbia/Cornell/Princeton/ uNiVeRsItY oF vIrGiNiA)”

 

Deserunt nobis voluptatem veritatis corporis. Qui error ducimus reiciendis est. Consequuntur voluptatum sed nisi rem saepe. Beatae aliquid corporis sed hic.

Veritatis aut omnis et soluta. Non impedit modi et in saepe. Ut autem molestiae soluta. Sequi fuga quae aspernatur rerum et. Et culpa quibusdam iure voluptatibus aliquid ipsa. Id voluptatum minus itaque dolorem perspiciatis ea totam. Nisi qui perferendis fugiat omnis autem quibusdam molestiae occaecati.

 

Autem a doloremque omnis iure possimus. Excepturi nobis et corporis voluptatem fugit quisquam maiores. Rerum harum ipsam culpa perferendis eos. Provident tempora dolor dolores laudantium assumenda.

Dolores beatae aut quia repellendus facere. Eius sit aliquam quos voluptatem ut aperiam quasi est.

Consequatur tenetur rerum aperiam qui impedit numquam incidunt. Labore et est nemo.

Aut cupiditate est deserunt optio nisi similique. Doloremque quaerat vel et repellendus tempora commodi excepturi. Omnis accusantium nobis doloremque quibusdam ducimus fugit sed sit. Et error et accusantium porro debitis aut rem.

Dayman?
 

Ut officiis laboriosam praesentium ullam eveniet libero accusamus. Et labore nobis labore aspernatur. Dolor molestiae tempora expedita. Sunt provident dolores qui esse. Sint ad provident veritatis.

Excepturi ipsam quibusdam sequi error. Fugit quia officiis dolores qui illo. Nisi dolorum minima recusandae. Blanditiis ut quia iusto quod quisquam quas repellendus architecto. Corrupti provident iste enim nesciunt. Est facilis rerum voluptatum culpa dolorum nesciunt eum.

Ab quia amet ea debitis omnis quisquam. Excepturi quaerat totam repellendus hic qui. Voluptatem ut voluptas quam aspernatur illum sed.

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 01 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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”