Reflections on a Summer Internship in Investment Banking

Abstract

This note describes a student's experience as an investment-banking intern during the summer between his first and second years in an MBA program. Most of the note details a week of the student's activities. Students in investment-banking or career-management courses are given an accurate view of the amount of time and energy investment banking takes in a typical week. The note is appropriate for discussions about investment banking, training, balancing life and work, and making career choices.

Excerpt

UVA-PACS-0094

REFLECTIONS ON A SUMMER INTERNSHIP

IN INVESTMENT BANKING

People often look at investment banking as a glamorous career which involves traveling around the world coordinating mega deals. What many people do not see are the sacrifices that investment banking professionals are forced to make every day in order to follow this career path. The time and energy required to be successful in investment banking severely alters a person's ability to have a passion for any activity beyond work. They also often find themselves a stranger to both their spouse and children.

They become consumed by the deal orientation of the business which stresses victory at every turn, and often forget to stop and enjoy the finer things that life has to offer. This leads to the burn-out that so many investment banking professionals experience. The stress and lack of balance in their lives eventually destroys them.

However, the job is not without rewards. The prestige and compensation of an investment banking job are what lures many young professionals to the business. The Wall Street firms pay almost double the average MBA salary in the first year out of school. The money does not come without lofty expectations as many first year associates will often work ninety to one hundred hours a week.

In this essay, I will first make some observations on the recruiting process for investment banks, and then I'll outline a typical week for an investment banking associate based upon my experiences at a Wall Street firm during the summer of 1995. Maybe you'll find this interesting and/or helpful.

Recruiting Interviews

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Keywords: career management, investment banking