Most Helpful

Hi there,

It took me a while, and I changed my mind a couple of times, so first off is to be ok with just making a decision without necessarily being 100% certain about it.

As for actually choosing, I would do three things:

1. Read through the FT, WSJ, Economist, Businessweek, and other such publications. Find the type of stories that interest you more. Are you excited to hear more about the Fed and Central Banks decisions and what motivates them? Are you curious about the problems encountered by large companies and how they innovate or solved or overcame a challenge? Are you interested in the finance stories about investment and what new strategies funds are employing? This can be a first guide.

2. Talk to/read about people's work in consulting, finance, academia, corporate functions. You can either do it here, or on LinkedIn by networking, or via your university's alumni network. Find out whose job sounds most interesting to you and whose personality you prefer (that one matters too, cause you'll be spending anywhere from 40 to 100h/week with dozens of folks like them, so you better either like them or not mind them).

3. Start looking at the prep. Basically, look at what it takes to prep for an IB interview, for a consulting interview, for a PE interview, and for more traditional corporate jobs interviews. It's been said before, but for consulting, if you don't enjoy casing during interviews, you will probably not enjoy the job. If you look at the prep for IB and realise "Oh hell no, I am not spending hours on end doing three-statement modelling!" then it is a strong indication this is maybe not for you.

And since you're in college still, try a couple of different internships. It'll force you to do #3 and give you exposure to #2 by construction.

Good luck!

 

Cupiditate eius quod alias eius. Qui corporis maxime ipsum. Doloribus in laudantium quae officiis. Accusamus rerum repudiandae qui commodi id. Enim eaque consequatur earum quia odio ab.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”