Investment banking

Investment banking is a common career path for Columbia students. It involves working in a "front office" division within an investment bank, whether in the actual investment banking division, or in asset management, or sales & trading.

Career timeline

Summer analyst

Undergraduates who want to work at an investment bank are best off starting in a summer internship program. Investment banks that recruit via Columbia's Center for Career Education generally conduct information sessions about their programs in November/December, require resumes to be submitted by early January, and conduct interviews in January and February. Most students who get a place on one of these programs will be between their junior and senior year, though a small number of students get a place earlier in their time as an undergraduate. These summer analysts (or summer interns) receive about a week of training then fulfill the same role as full-time analysts for anything from 6 to 12 weeks. Many summer interns receive full-time offers from their investment bank, but those who don't are nevertheless in a much better position when they apply to other banks for a full-time role.

Analyst

The main Columbia recruiting cycle is for the full-time analyst roles at investment banks (and management consultancies). A vast range of students participate: summer analysts who want to find something better than their full-time offer, summer analysts who failed to get offers, students who failed to get a summer analyst position, and students who have only just considered a career in investment banking. Similar to summer analyst recruiting, investment banks that use CCE conduct information sessions in September, require resumes to be submitted by the end of September, and conduct interviews in October. Offers generally expire by the end of November. Most investment banks recruit many more students at this stage than for their summer internship programs. Recruited students are then free to relax for the rest of the academic year and a large part of the summer. Upon beginning, they undergo a week or more of training. Analysts are then expected to work for 2 to 3 years before either being promoted to associate level or being kicked out to go to business school. Most European banks choose the former; most US banks choose the latter.

Associate

Associates are generally recruited directly out of business school, just as analysts are recruited directly out of college. They also go through a first recruiting cycle to become summer associates, then a second cycle to become full-time associates. Once hired, they relax for the year, get a few months off in the summer, are briefly trained, then start work. On the upside, if they are abused or overworked by VPs and MDs, they can offload some of the abuse and work onto analysts. On the downside, they do not have any defined end goal, such as 2 to 3 years for analysts, at which point their suffering will end.

VP, SVP, AD, MD, etc.

There are usually 2 to 3 ranks of people above the analysts and associates. These are variously known as Vice President, Senior Vice President, Associate Director, and Managing Director. Above these people are the Chairman and the board of directors, but those roles are not directly involved in earning fees. The aforementioned higher ranks within the firm provide it with reason to exist. In the Investment Banking division, they win business for the investment bank and hand it out to people lower down for processing and completion. In the other divisions, they occupy similarly important roles.

Exit opportunities

• Private equity.
• Hedge fund.
• Become CFO of a big corporation.

Life/role of a person in an investment bank

Hours

Hours worked by people in investment banks vary from about 60 hours per week to over 100. Sales & Trading analysts are often at the lower end of the scale because their work depends on when their particular markets are open, with a few additional hours to prepare for the next day or the day ahead. Asset Management analysts are often at the middle of the scale. And Investment Banking analysts almost always work the longest hours, working up to 115 hours per week when completing deals.

Compensation

First-year analyst salaries are typically about $60,000 per year, with bonuses reaching as high as $110,000 per year. These high compensation levels motivate a lot of Columbia students to pursue careers in investment banking.