What investment bankers actually do, and what the entry looks like
Investment banking is the business of helping companies and governments raise money and make large financial deals — mergers, acquisitions, stock offerings, bond sales. An investment banker advises on the deal, structures it, finds the buyers or sellers on the other side, and takes a fee when it closes. The work is project-based, intense during deal cycles, and involves a lot of financial modeling, client meetings, and late nights.
Entry into investment banking almost always starts with a specific role: analyst. This is a two-year position, usually filled straight out of college, where you build financial models, prepare pitch books (documents that show why a client should hire your firm), and support senior bankers on live deals. After two years, analysts either move into an MBA program (which most do), return as an associate, or leave the industry. This is the only realistic entry point if you do not already have a finance background or family connections in the industry.
The path is narrow and competitive. Most analysts come from target schools — universities that investment banks actively recruit from — or have interned at a bank during college. If you did not intern, you can still break in, but you will need to be deliberate about it.
Key Takeaways
- Investment banking analyst roles are the standard entry point, require a college degree, and typically start within months of graduation or during your final year of school.
- Target schools (large state universities and elite private colleges) receive the most recruiting attention, but non-target candidates can break in through networking, finance internships, or strong technical skills.
- You need to learn financial modeling, understand deal structures, and be able to talk about real transactions before you interview, not after you are hired.
- The job demands 60 to 80 hour weeks during active deals, so you are choosing a lifestyle as much as a career path.
- Most analysts leave after two years to pursue an MBA or move to private equity, so this is typically a stepping stone rather than a long-term role.
The college years: internships and recruiting
If you are still in school, the internship is your main lever. Most investment banks hire their full-time analysts from their summer intern class. A summer internship between junior and senior year (or between sophomore and junior year) is the clearest path to an offer. Banks recruit for these internships in the fall of the year before, so if you are a sophomore, you should be networking and preparing now.
If your school is not a target school, you have two options: explore through the bank's online portal and hope to get screened in (low odds), or network your way to an interview. Networking means reaching out to alumni who work at the bank, asking for 15 minutes to learn about their path, and eventually asking if they can refer you to the recruiting team. This is not pushy — it is how non-target candidates get in. Start with your school's alumni database or LinkedIn.
During the internship, you will learn the actual work: building models in Excel, understanding how deals are structured, and seeing how bankers interact with clients. You will also be evaluated on whether you are someone senior bankers want to work with for two years. Intern offers are not automatic; they go to interns who show technical skill and fit.
If you are already out of school
Breaking in after graduation is harder but not impossible. You have two realistic routes: lateral hire from another finance role, or a post-MBA analyst program.
The lateral hire path means working in equity research, corporate finance, accounting, or another finance role for one to three years, building technical skills and deal experience, then moving to an investment bank as an analyst or associate. You will be older than the typical analyst, but banks do hire experienced people. The key is that your resume needs to show you understand finance and have worked on transactions or financial analysis.
The post-MBA path is the more common one. You work for two to four years in any field, then attend a full-time MBA program. Most MBA programs have investment banking recruiting in the fall of the first year, and banks hire MBAs as associates (the level above analyst). This is actually the majority path now — most investment bankers did not go straight from college to analyst.
What you need to learn before you interview
Investment banks expect you to arrive with baseline technical knowledge. You do not need to be an informed, but you need to show you have studied the work. This means learning financial modeling, understanding the three main financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement), and being able to walk through a straightforward deal.
Start with free resources: YouTube channels dedicated to investment banking (search "investment banking modeling tutorial"), Wall Street Prep's free modeling guide, and books like Vault Guide to Finance Interviews. The goal is to understand how to build a straightforward three-statement model and talk through it in an interview. You should also read deal news — follow M&A announcements, IPOs, and bond offerings in the news, and be able to discuss why a deal happened and how the bank made money.
Practice behavioral questions too. Banks want to know why you want the job (not "to make money"), what deal interests you, and how you handle pressure. Have real answers ready.
The recruiting timeline and where to find openings
For college students, recruiting happens in the fall for summer internships and in the winter for full-time analyst roles (starting the following summer or fall). For MBA students, recruiting happens in the fall of year one for associate roles starting after graduation.
You can find openings on the careers pages of major banks: JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, Barclays, and others all post analyst and intern roles. You can also work through a recruiter who specializes in finance — they have relationships with banks and can sometimes get your resume in front of a hiring manager. LinkedIn is a good place to find these recruiters.
If you are networking (which you should be), you are not waiting for a posted job. You are asking alumni if their team is hiring, and they are referring you directly to the hiring manager. This often moves faster than the online portal.
What the job actually demands
Investment banking is not a nine-to-five role. During active deal work, analysts regularly work 60 to 80 hour weeks. You might be in the office until midnight building models, then back at 7 a.m. for a client call. The work is cyclical — some weeks are quiet, others are brutal — but you cannot predict which.
The job also requires you to be on call. If a client needs something, you drop what you are doing. If a deal is closing, you work through the weekend. This is not a threat or a test — it is the nature of the business. If you have caregiving responsibilities, a health condition that requires predictable hours, or strong personal commitments, you should think carefully about whether this role fits your life right now.
That said, the two-year analyst program is designed as a sprint, not a marathon. Most people do it for two years, then move to something with better hours. The pay is good (base salary plus bonus, typically $100,000 to $150,000 total in year one, higher in year two), and the exit opportunities are strong — private equity, hedge funds, corporate development, and MBA programs all recruit heavily from investment banking.
Alternatives if the traditional path does not fit
If you cannot break into a major bank, or if the hours and intensity do not work for your situation, there are adjacent roles that teach similar skills with different trade-offs. Corporate finance roles at large companies involve financial modeling and deal work but with more predictable hours. Equity research involves financial analysis and client interaction but less modeling intensity. Private equity analyst roles exist but are even harder to break into than banking.
You can also start in banking at a smaller or regional bank, or at a boutique investment bank that focuses on one industry or deal type. These roles are less prestigious and pay less, but they teach the fundamentals and can be a stepping stone to a larger bank later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a specific college major to become an investment banker?
No. Banks hire analysts with degrees in finance, economics, math, engineering, and other fields. What matters is that you show financial knowledge in your interview and on your resume. A finance or economics major helps because you have already taken relevant courses, but it is not required.
Can I break into investment banking without an internship?
It is much harder but possible. You would need to work in another finance role first, build strong technical skills, and network into a bank as a lateral hire. Or you could work for a few years, then do an MBA and recruit as an associate. The internship is the easiest path because banks are already set up to hire interns into full-time roles.
What if I go to a school that is not a target school?
Target school status helps but is not a barrier. You need to network more actively, explore to more internships, and be more deliberate about building your resume. Reach out to alumni at banks, attend finance conferences, and consider doing a finance-focused internship at a smaller firm first to build credibility.
How much does an investment banking analyst make?
Base salary varies by bank and location but typically ranges from $80,000 to $110,000 in year one. Bonuses can be $20,000 to $50,000 or more depending on the bank's performance and your performance. Year two pay is usually higher. These numbers change year to year based on market conditions.
What happens after two years as an analyst?
Most analysts leave to pursue an MBA, then return as associates. Some move to private equity or hedge funds. Some stay at the bank and move into a senior analyst or associate role without an MBA, though this is less common. Very few analysts stay in banking long-term — the role is designed as a training ground.