Investment Banker
Investment bankers are the movers and shakers in the institutional world. They play a key role in
underwriting new issues of stocks or developing mergers and acquisitions (M&As) strategies. It’s up to the
investment bankers to evaluate companies and time the market to make the biggest profits for their firms
or clients. Life as an investment banker is characterized by uneven bursts of activity followed by times of
calm or even boredom. Unlike financial analysts, investment bankers are directly responsible for
generating revenues and pulling the trigger on investment decisions.
It takes a lot of stamina and the ability to handle stress to be a career investment banker. Firms expect
their hires to hit the ground running and show a lot of initiative, but perhaps more than anything else,
they expect them to put in a lot of hours. An investment banker can begin as a low-level financial analyst
with just a Bachelor’s degree, but investment banking associates should either have three to four years of
experience or an MBA.