Best Field for Ambitious Go-getters

I have recently started working as an intern in risk management at one of the largest European banks, and have just completed a Master's degee in a highly quantitative subject (not directly related to economics/finance) with a strong IT background at a very important European university. Brutally speaking, I would like to pursue a career which can make me climb the ladder as fast as possible and earn a lot of money. I've always seen "doing what you love for a living" as a privilege I cannot afford, and I don't care about the quality of my life.

I have done some networking in my bank, and the general impression is that, after the crisis, trading, even algorithmic, is no more a good way to make money for "obsessed" people who know some math, being strangled by regulations. Everybody with whom I talked see it as an unsafe path. On the other hand, many have mentioned M&A as an excellent field for go-getters.

Is this true? Nowadays, even if there ain't no such thing as a free lunch, what is the "safest" way to become rich and powerful ASAP?