Associate Recruiting - what bank should I lean into?

At an M7 and with interview season coming up, wanted to get thoughts on what banks to focus on. Ideally optimizing for comp and aiming to be a long term banker in NY (SF not a consideration -- offers are out anyway). I have a finance background in TMT (not banking, but relevant enough), and would prefer to land in a group that has a decent tech practice (caveat is that it would be nice not to go to a shop that just does cybersecurity/enterprise). Also these banks ask you point blank if they're your #1 so have to be tactical in when I use that silver bullet.

Good luck to all recruiting - hopefully we'll land somewhere great! What do the monkeys think?

2 Comments
 

My 2 cents

GS TMT is surely #1 on this list if tech coverage is a priority, by far. Evercore tech M&A, strictly speaking, should be #2, but is a brutal spot to be a career banker (especially their tech coverage). From there, PWP TMT and Gugg TMT are very very close, and are both excellent places to be a career banker from a culture standpoint. 

I imagine all pay very similarly, but you should have access to good comp data through a combo of wso/career office/mba classmates & alumni

 

Voluptas ullam tempora molestiae. Tempora aperiam hic ea eum maiores sed totam. Consectetur commodi odit dolores dignissimos sit quo. Tenetur enim voluptate quidem recusandae repellat sed. Rem quas aperiam nihil velit commodi et. Deleniti quas ut ipsam tempora porro labore cum totam. Adipisci magnam unde amet.

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%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 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 (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $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
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...”