Is investment banking hard to get into?

For most people, breaking into investment banking is a multi-year long quest. The roles are so competitive and the jobs are so high paying, that it’s becoming increasingly harder to break into investment banking without prior work experience.

Is investment banking in decline?

The global investment banking market is expected to decline from $111.3 billion in 2019 to $109 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -2.1\%. The decline is mainly due to economic slowdown across countries owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and the measures to contain it.

How to get into investment banking?

The #3 strategy to get into investment banking is to prepare yourself. If you do what everyone does to get into investment banking, then maybe your application will end up in the heaps of rejected files! So, you need to make the effort to stand out from the crowd. Here’s what you should do to get into the investment banking –

Can you get into investment banking with an MBA?

At the MBA Level If your full-time work experience has nothing to do with finance, or you got interested in investment banking after you had already graduated, you will probably have to apply to top MBA programs, get in, and use one of them to move into the industry.

Do you need a degree to work in finance?

University degrees will continue to be required for jobs in finance, especially in the most competitive fields, such as investment banking and private equity. You are interested in a finance career, but you also want a good “Plan B” in case you graduate during a market crash or recession, or you decide against finance.

What do I need to know about investment banking exit opportunities?

You must be interested in a specific exit opportunity that normally features investment banking as a prerequisite, such as private equity or corporate development. For more tips on how to make a decision, please see our articles on “ Is Finance Still a Good Long-Term Career?” and “ Investment Banking Exit Opportunities .”