Investment Banking Analyst
IB Analysts build the models and materials behind major transactions.
Don't just read it — play it
Clock in at 9am and make the calls a Investment Banking Analyst makes all day. Six decisions, real consequences, a score at 5pm.
What this role really is
Investment banking analysts support live deals: mergers, acquisitions, and capital raises. You build the valuation models and the pitch materials senior bankers present to clients. It's a two-to-three year apprenticeship with a very steep learning curve, real prestige, and genuinely long hours — that combination is the whole trade.
- Build valuation models
- Prepare client pitch materials
- Run diligence on companies
- Support live deal processes
- Work to very tight deadlines
What it pays
- Entry level
- $110k–$160k with bonus
- Mid career
- $250k–$400k (associate/VP)
- Senior
- $500k+
Typically 9:30am–midnight, weekends during live deals
Majors that get you here
Entry roles: Summer Analyst · IB Analyst
Your 9-to-5, hour by hour
A realistic ordinary day — not the highlight reel.
9:30 AM
Comments from overnight
The VP's markup of last night's deck is in your inbox — 30 comments, half formatting, half substance. You work through them in order.
11:00 AM
Model updates
New management projections arrive. You update the operating model, refresh the DCF, and check that every linked schedule still ties.
1:00 PM
Comps refresh
You pull updated trading multiples for the comparable companies and rebuild the football field chart.
3:00 PM
Deal team call
Forty-five minutes with the client's CFO on diligence questions. You take notes and leave with six follow-ups.
6:00 PM
Building the pitch
Formatting, sourcing, page-by-page consistency. Everything must be right to the decimal because a partner will present it.
10:30 PM
Turn comments
Another markup arrives. You turn it, send the deck to print, and head home knowing tomorrow starts the same way.
Great for you if
- You want maximum learning speed in two years
- You can hold a high quality bar at 1am
- Exit options into PE, corporate development or startups appeal to you
Probably not for you if
- You need predictable evenings and weekends
- You want creative ownership early