What am I missing?

I work at a boutique? broker/dealer as a sales analyst. I work 50 hrs a week and make 80% of what friends in BB Ibd make. It is not uncommon for vps/directors in their late 20s/early 30s to be making 500k-1mm+.

Obviously, no prestige in being a sales analyst at a broker/dealer but I make a good amount and still have a life outside of work and upside is as high and earlier than most BB ib exits I know of.

Am I missing something? Why does no one talk about this/act like investment banking or bust. Is there some other upside to ib I’m not thinking about? Genuinely curious why I never see posts about jobs like mine.

280 WSO Academy Sales & Trading Session Reviews: 4.85/5

Class of '28 Aug 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

Sales & Trading Career Roadmap (optional)

“John listened before giving advice. I told him I had accepted an offer at Bank of America but was still interested in JLL and Wellington. Instead of telling me what to do, he asked what I wanted from my career and helped me think about which path would give me more options. I also liked that he was honest about what he knew and didn’t know. He gave me a clear reason to keep working toward JLL, while reminding me that Bank of America was still a good place to start. When I practiced my interview answer, he told me what worked and gave me one simple way to improve it. That made the feedback easy to use. Most of all, John made me feel less stressed about figuring everything out right now. He offered to help with a mock interview too, which meant a lot to me. ”

Class of '28 Apr 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

Sales & Trading Mock Interview

“The mentor provided extremely detailed and thoughtful feedback throughout our session. What I appreciated most was that the advice was not generic. He took the time to understand my background, past experiences, and the specific roles I am currently recruiting for, and then tailored his suggestions accordingly. He also connected many of his recommendations to his own professional background and experiences, which made the feedback much more practical and credible. Instead of simply telling me what to change, he explained why certain answers or approaches would be more effective and how an interviewer might interpret them. He also shared specific examples from his own experience to illustrate his points. I came away from the session with a much clearer understanding of both my strengths and the areas I should improve, as well as several concrete ways to strengthen my interview preparation. Overall, the session was extremely helpful, personalized, and actionable, and I would definitely work with him again.”

See All 11,156 WSO Academy Reviews

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Authored by: Certified Asset Management Professional - Portfolio ManagerCertified Asset Management Pro

+12	Rates Vol TA -> FO Macro Sales?	2	2d
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+6	Sales and Trading Recruitment for Summer 2028	3	3d
+3	I am an agri commodity trader in a top firm, ask me anything.	3	10m

1	redever	99.2
2	kanon	99.0
3	Secyh62	99.0
4	BankonBanking	99.0
5	dosk17	98.9
6	GameTheory	98.9
7	DrApeman	98.9
8	Betsy Massar	98.9
9	CompBanker	98.9
10	numi	98.8

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