Investment Banking: Life as an Associate

From the link: http://www.careers-in-finance.com/ibassoc.htm

(Please read the full article from the original link above - this is only an excerpt)

An associate is typically a recently graduated MBA or an analyst who gets promoted after three or four years. You will usually stay an associate for three years or so. An associate still has to do a lot of grunt work and may even have an analyst to call on. Your hours will still be miserable and you haven't really become a human being yet. Like a good analyst, your job is to make your boss look good and to understand what's going on. Your boss may abuse you from time to time and you aren't supposed to complain really. This is a job where you can really start to shine. If you add value to transactions or help get things done in some other meaningful way, you can expect to be paid a reasonable bonus and have a shot a promotion to AVP.

Associate level pay in New York firms runs roughly $90,000 in your first year (including bonus). If you are good and stay awhile, expect to go up to roughly $130,000 to $150,000 before you hop up another level. In London expect a salary of roughly 60,000 to 80,000 Pounds (all-in).

KEY ASSOCIATE SKILLS
In investment banking / corporate finance / M&A, key associate skills include:

• the ability to do DCF valuations
• the ability to use Excel in your sleep
• the ability to arrange client meetings and get the logistics right
• the ability to deal with horrendous egos
• the ability to find comparable companies
• the ability to network within the firm and befriend key people like librarians, IT gurus, messengers, lawyers, compliance etc.

Associate level pay in New York firms runs roughly $90,000 in your first year (including bonus). If you are good and stay awhile, expect to go up to roughly $130,000 to $150,000 before you hop up another level. In London expect a salary of roughly 60,000 to 80,000 Pounds (all-in).

In debt and equity capital markets positions, key associate skills include:

• the ability to massage league tables
• the ability to price up new deals (e.g. bonds, convertibles, preferreds)
• pretend that you know what's going when clients call in and the boss is not around
• the ability to track past deals and pricing to sense where the market is going
• check and generate weekly newsletters (weeklies)
• the ability to fill in silences in meetings with insightful comments (while making sure your boss controls things)
• coordinate due diligence
• prepare document on debt and equity deals
• make sure analysts get burgers from the right place
• generate pitch books with your eyes closed while talking to clients and screaming at syndicate

In sales and trading positions, key associate skills include:

• the ability to watch your bosses blotter
• the ability to know where prices are
• the ability to work options pricing models
• the ability to bluff a little when needed
• the ability to eat endless fattening food without getting fat
• the ability to golf, play tennis, drink and joke around with clients
• the ability to make clients feel comfortable with you