Also called: IB Analyst
The entry-level job at an investment bank, building financial models and pitch books for mergers and stock offerings.
You get to the office at 9 a.m. and might leave at 1 a.m. You update a valuation model for a company your bank wants to sell, fix 30 slides your associate marked up in red, and jump on a call with lawyers. Weekends often get eaten by a live deal.
BLS groups investment bankers with securities sales agents (median ~$78k), which hides Wall Street pay; figures here are typical total pay (salary plus bonus) at major banks. First-year analysts at big banks earn ~$110k base plus a $50k-$100k+ bonus.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in finance, economics or any major with strong internships; summer internships after junior year are the main entry door.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Finance, Economics, Accounting, Mathematics.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). Hiring follows deal activity, which swings with markets.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI builds pitch books, comps and first-draft models, the classic analyst grind; banks are already planning smaller analyst classes.
Classes: AP Calculus, AP Statistics, Accounting, AP Macroeconomics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 41-3031.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.