Investment banking analysts are junior employees who build financial models, write pitch documents, and handle the detailed work that senior bankers use to advise companies on major deals.
An analyst's job is to take a complex business problem — like whether Company A should buy Company B, or how a company should raise money — and turn it into numbers and documents that senior bankers can present to clients. You are not meeting with clients or making strategy decisions. You are the person who stays late building the spreadsheet that shows what a deal would cost, what it would earn, and whether it makes financial sense.
Most analyst roles are entry-level positions filled by people with a bachelor's degree, often in finance, economics, or accounting. The typical path is to work as an analyst for two to three years, then move into a more senior role at the same bank or elsewhere. Some analysts go to business school after their stint; others move into corporate finance, private equity, or different industries entirely.
Key Takeaways
- Analysts spend most of their time building financial models in Excel — spreadsheets that show the cost, revenue, and profit of a potential deal under different scenarios.
- You will write pitch books and presentation decks that senior bankers use to convince clients that a deal is worth doing.
- The hours are long and unpredictable; you work when deals are active, which can mean nights and weekends during busy periods.
- The salary is competitive for entry-level work, but the real value is the training in how large financial deals actually work.
Building financial models is the core of the job
A financial model is a spreadsheet — usually in Microsoft Excel — that shows what a deal would look like financially. If a bank is advising a company on whether to buy another company, the analyst builds a model that projects the target company's revenue, costs, and profit for the next five to ten years. The model shows what the buyer would pay, how much debt it would take on, and what the deal would earn for the buyer's shareholders.
These models are not straightforward. They pull data from financial statements, industry reports, and assumptions the senior bankers have made about how the business will perform. An analyst might spend a full day building a single model, then spend the next day changing the assumptions because the client asked a new question. The model has to be accurate because senior bankers will present it to clients, and errors damage the bank's reputation.
You learn Excel at a level most people never reach. You become fast at writing formulas, organizing data, and spotting mistakes. This skill alone makes you valuable to employers outside banking — corporate finance teams, private equity firms, and consulting companies all want people who can build models quickly and correctly.
You create the documents senior bankers present to clients
Once the financial model is built, an analyst writes a pitch book — a document that tells a company's story and makes the case for a deal. If the bank is pitching a merger strategy, the pitch book might have 50 to 100 pages. It includes market research, competitor analysis, the financial model you just built, and a recommendation on what the client should do.
The analyst writes the first draft. You organize the information, create charts and graphs from the model, and write the text that explains what each page means. Senior bankers then edit your work, add their own insights, and present it to the client. Your name does not appear anywhere, but your work is what the client sees.
You also create presentation decks for internal meetings and client calls. These are shorter — 10 to 30 slides — and focus on the key numbers and recommendation. The ability to make a complex financial story clear to someone who is not a banker is a skill you develop over time.
Analysts handle data gathering and due diligence
Before a deal moves forward, the bank needs to understand the target company thoroughly. An analyst gathers financial data, reads through years of financial statements, and compiles information about the company's customers, competitors, and market position. This is called due diligence.
You might spend a week pulling together five years of a company's revenue by product line, or researching how many customers it has and whether that number is growing. You organize this information into a format that senior bankers can use to ask smart questions during client meetings. You are not making judgments about whether the deal is good; you are making sure the bank has accurate information before senior people make that judgment.
This work is detailed and sometimes tedious, but it teaches you how to read financial statements and understand what different numbers actually mean about a business's health.
The schedule is unpredictable and often long
Investment banking is known for long hours. During slow periods, you might work a normal 9-to-5 day. When deals are active — which can be weeks or months at a time — you might work until midnight or later, or come in on weekends to finish a model before a client meeting.
The unpredictability is part of the job. You cannot plan your evening because you do not know if a senior banker will ask you to rebuild a model at 4 p.m. Some weeks are manageable; others are exhausting. Banks know this is difficult, which is why analyst salaries are higher than entry-level positions in many other industries — the money is partly compensation for the time commitment.
Different banks and different groups within a bank have different cultures around hours. Some groups are known for being slightly more reasonable; others are known for being brutal. This is something to research when you are considering where to work.
You learn how major financial deals actually work
The real value of an analyst role is the education. You see how companies decide to buy other companies, how they raise money, how debt works, and how banks structure deals to make them work for everyone involved. This knowledge is hard to get anywhere else because most people do not see the full picture of a deal from start to finish.
You also learn the language and culture of finance. You understand what terms like "EBITDA" and "leverage" actually mean in practice, not just in a textbook. You see how senior bankers think about problems and how they communicate with clients. If you stay in finance, this foundation makes everything else easier. If you leave finance, you have a rare understanding of how the financial world works.
Many analysts use their two or three years in banking as a stepping stone. Some go to business school and then move into corporate finance, private equity, or venture capital. Others move directly into corporate roles at large companies. The training is portable — employers in many industries value the analytical skills and deal experience you gain.
The path forward from analyst
After two to three years, most analysts move into a senior role. At some banks, the next step is associate; at others, it is senior analyst. This role involves more client interaction and more responsibility for managing junior analysts' work. The hours often improve slightly because you are not doing all the detailed spreadsheet work yourself.
Some analysts move into other banking roles — equity research, sales and trading, or corporate banking. Others leave banking entirely. There is no single "right" path. The analyst role is designed as a training ground, and what you do next depends on what you learned about yourself during those two or three years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a finance degree to become an investment banking analyst?
No. Banks hire analysts with degrees in economics, accounting, mathematics, engineering, and other fields. What matters more is that you understand basic financial concepts and can learn quickly. Many banks offer training programs for new analysts regardless of their background.
How much do investment banking analysts make?
Salary varies by bank, location, and year. Entry-level analysts at large banks typically earn a base salary in the range of $80,000 to $120,000, plus a bonus that can be substantial during profitable years. Smaller banks and regional banks often pay less. The bonus is not may provide and depends on the bank's performance and your own performance.
What skills do I need to get hired as an analyst?
Banks look for strong Excel skills, the ability to understand financial statements, and comfort with numbers. You should also be able to communicate clearly in writing and presentations. Many candidates prepare by learning Excel on their own and studying how to build financial models before they interview.
Is investment banking a good career for the long term?
That depends on what you want. If you enjoy finance and want to move into private equity, corporate finance, or business school, banking is an excellent training ground. If you find the hours unsustainable or the work unfulfilling, it is a good place to figure that out early and move into something else. Few people stay in banking analyst roles for more than three years.
What is the difference between an analyst and an associate in investment banking?
Analysts are entry-level and typically have a bachelor's degree. Associates usually have an MBA or equivalent experience and manage analysts' work while handling more client interaction. The associate role is the next step after analyst, though some people leave banking before reaching it.