The desirability of investment banking
Is 90% of it the money? Let's say inflation starts rising and thus the Fed Funds rate increases to 7.5% or so. As a result there is a huge slow down in the number of deals being completed. This leads to analyst pay becoming ($60,000 salary, $10,000 sign-on and $20,000 as the average year end bonus).
Would you still go into banking, decide law is the way to go, or find an industry job where you work 50 hours a week but only get paid $55,000-$60,000 annually.
I am just trying to get a gauge on the importance of money in this field or are the other factors important.
It's not the first year salary that is of huge importance---its either the exit opps or the potential for salary growth. In the industry job you might max out after working for 20 years at around 200,000 but even in a slow market you will hit that number as an associate...
And corporate law deal flow is also tied to the robustness of the market, unless you are a bankruptcy attorney
If the econmony goes to shit and there are no deals you probably won't be working 100 or even 80 hours a week (depending on what group), so either way banking is desireable. How many hours a week did people work during the internet bubble crash?
I agree with jj80. In relative terms, your analyst salaries don't really matter. What matters is you get great work experience and are able to market yourself to get into a top MBA program and move to A) The carreer you want, or B) High Income Positions. I think there are very few people who enjoy working the 100hrs/wk. I like to think I would do a 2 year stint regardless of the comp. For someone who didn't major in finance, I see it as an intense 2 year educational program where I actually get paid.
Becoming a bankruptcy attorney is a good way to hedge against a failing market.
I think that it is the prospects of the future income, combined with the absurdly high starting salaries, that draw in all the newbies. I agree that if starting were dropped to only 30% more than other 55hr/wk jobs very few people would want to work 90 hr weeks regularly.
On the other hand the market cant be slow forever, there will be a turnaround.
People worked plenty during the internet bubble crash, they just spent all their time pitching (and hoping that they won something). Since few of those pitches materialized into business, many analyst friends of mine at the time lost their jobs.
Voluptas ut dolor nostrum repellat. Molestiae est commodi odio doloremque.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...