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.

6 Comments
 

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.

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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.

 

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