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Investment Banking - Job Positions (steps) to get there.

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AlexLefty
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Investment Banking - Job Positions (steps) to get there. [#permalink] New post   26 Dec 2012, 14:39
I'm just trying to get an understanding of what the prerequisite jobs after getting an MBA for investment banking are. For example: to be a manager at a grocery store one could say the general format is: Bagger -> Checker -> Business Center Worker -> Customer Service Manager -> Lead Customer Service Manager.

Is there a similar format in investment banking?

To me, it seems to go like:
Analyst -> More Experienced Analyst -> Associate -> More experienced associate -> Investment Banker

I may have oversimplified or have the completely wrong idea about how this works. Can anyone clear it up for me?
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hamm0
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Re: Investment Banking - Job Positions (steps) to get there. [#permalink] New post   26 Dec 2012, 20:04
Typical Path goes Analyst -> Associate -> VP -> MD -> ???*

Most analysts do not matriculate to associate, often leaving for PE, VC, HF, or business school. Business school grads will enter @ Associate level.

As far as someone making it to "investment banker", well.. that isn't a position, but rather a career. I.e. a PWC auditor is an accountant, but will never have the title accountant :)

wetfeet has great career guides, FYI.

*Some firms have a more elongated structure with senior VP, etc. thrown in.
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BigBrownFox
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Re: Investment Banking - Job Positions (steps) to get there. [#permalink] New post   26 Dec 2012, 22:36
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If you are asking about which pre-MBA qualifications is ideal for a post-MBA investment banking career:

Well obviously investment banking (IB) analyst or private equity (PE) experience is ideal, but I know many people who have switched from strategy consulting, corporate finance, and other finance fields to IB or PE associate after their MBA. If you don't have pre-MBA IB or PE experience, then you should keep up with global business, economic, and capital market landscapes as best you can on your own. Keeping up to date and having adequate knowledge of those three things is essential to performing well in your interviews.

Some great resources that you should often read and utilize are the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and CNBC for daily and real time news, and The Economist and Bloomberg Businessweek magazines for weekly editorial analysis.

Taking and passing the CFA exams, or at least CFA Level I, also usually helps greatly for your industry switch.
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AlexLefty
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Re: Investment Banking - Job Positions (steps) to get there. [#permalink] New post   28 Dec 2012, 22:31
hamm0 wrote:
Typical Path goes Analyst -> Associate -> VP -> MD -> ???*

Most analysts do not matriculate to associate, often leaving for PE, VC, HF, or business school. Business school grads will enter @ Associate level.

Would you mind telling me what PE, VC, and HF mean/stand for/are? I'm not astute with the acronyms.

BigBrownFox wrote:
Taking and passing the CFA exams, or at least CFA Level I, also usually helps greatly for your industry switch.

What exactly are these exams and what are they used for?


Also thanks for the help guys.
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AlexLefty
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Re: Investment Banking - Job Positions (steps) to get there. [#permalink] New post   30 Dec 2012, 00:50
Also, what are exact job titles in the investment banking world besides analyst and associate and vp. I've realized that Investment banking is just an umbrella term for the industry.

Anyone?
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CoralMoore
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Re: Investment Banking - Job Positions (steps) to get there. [#permalink] New post   09 Feb 2013, 05:28
Path to investment banker basically depends on this linked process only, as the proper experience to reach this position and get involved in companies finance is possible when the person has the approach and knowledge of how to work effectively.
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TwoTimesTheCharm
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Re: Investment Banking - Job Positions (steps) to get there. [#permalink] New post   09 Feb 2013, 05:54
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Check out https://www.wallstreetoasis.com -- thats where I learned about IB 6 years ago while in undergrad. Specifically, go to the FAQs. I'll get you started: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/faq/what-is-investment-banking
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Re: Investment Banking - Job Positions (steps) to get there. [#permalink] New post   09 Feb 2013, 06:52
AlexLefty wrote:
hamm0 wrote:
Typical Path goes Analyst -> Associate -> VP -> MD -> ???*

Most analysts do not matriculate to associate, often leaving for PE, VC, HF, or business school. Business school grads will enter @ Associate level.

Would you mind telling me what PE, VC, and HF mean/stand for/are? I'm not astute with the acronyms.


Sorry, I didn't see this earlier.

PE = Private Equity
VC = Venture Capital
HF = Hedge Fund
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Re: Investment Banking - Job Positions (steps) to get there. [#permalink] New post   14 Feb 2013, 20:10
There are 2 major routes to getting into the investment banking industry.

Details are here: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-prep-about ... t-banking/

You can either do target school recruiting at the undergrad level - or you can do it at the MBA level. The latter requires you take the GMAT as described in the above article.

Of course, you can also try to network your way in to smaller boutiques. But for the most part, the above 2 are the most common options.
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Re: Investment Banking - Job Positions (steps) to get there. [#permalink]
14 Feb 2013, 20:10
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