How To Become An Investment Banker

Did you love Math when you were in school? Do you enjoy watching business news late at night or having conversations about the latest trends in economy over coffee? If you do, then you might want to consider being an investment banker.

An investment banker may work for either huge companies or small businesses that are just starting up. They have multiple duties and responsibilities in a company.

• Find investors for their business
• Sell stock shares
• Sell bonds
• Acquire funds for banks
• Offer investment ideas and/ or advices
• In charge of transfer of legal ownership between companies

While the work of an investment banker is tedious and risky (since every move involves huge sums of money), it is also one of the high paying jobs in the United States.

How to Become an Investment Banker

1.  Get a degree.

The minimum requirement to become an investment banker is to have a Bachelor’s degree in top universities and take up courses like: Accountancy, Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Math and Marketing. These courses can assist you in pursuing with the profession. Formal education about the business industry can sharpen your knowledge and give you the opportunity to learn from business experts. You could also take this time to think about and develop your own business strategies.

2.  Be an intern.

Investment banks usually visit universities and scout for prospect interns. These banks will offer summer internship programs to those with good performance, and students who have maintained high grades in all subjects, especially Math or business related subjects. This is a very important and valuable chance for anyone who is planning to be an investment banker. Internships give students the chance to see and experience what it is like working in the industry. Interns or entry-level employees are assigned to work as analysts and are not yet involved in dealing with clients at this stage.

A summer internship is also a great chance to meet experienced investment bankers and analysts. Get to know them and establish friendly connections. As an intern, you need them as mentors and you will continually need their help when you start applying for “real” work in the future.

3.  Consider getting certified.

While it is not necessary, being certified will help you land a job.  There is no official certification program to be an investment banker, but many schools offer their own certificate.  For instance, New York University offers a fundamentals certificate and an advanced certificate.

4.  Learn to be a communicator.

As an investment banker, you will be having a lot of meetings, casual conversations over meals, as well as presentations and conferences with clients and your bosses so you would need to be able to communicate effectively. If you know your niche well and are able to talk clients through it, they may possibly agree to a deal just because they are confident with you, as their investment banker.

5.  Learn to write business proposals.

If you are not confident about doing it, take enrichment courses or learn online. There are numerous ways to learn how to write proper business proposals. Writing business letters and proposals is considered a basic yet very important in becoming an investment banker.

6.  Never stop learning.

Bank on personal skills by joining any seminars and workshops available that may help you become a better employee. Training programs on effective communication, risk evaluation and management, task delegation and business strategies can be a huge help.

7.  Keep up to date.

Know the latest trends in economy by reading newspapers and watching the news. You can also choose to purchase or download a stock market application for your phone so that you’ll receive updates more frequently.

8.  Take advantage of social networking sites and the Internet.

There are thousands of forums that talk about the economy, the global market and money talks in general. Joining could help you be aware and be updated of the latest in the business field.

9.  Get a Master’s degree in business (MBA).

Most huge investment companies do not like to waste their time training entry-level employees with only a bachelor’s degree. About 85% of the companies in the US and international banks require that investment bankers be MBA holders.

10.  Experience is crucial.

Gain experience with an investment bank or at the stock market for a few years.

11.  Continuing education is key.

Even when you are already working, it helps to continue studying. The development in the business industry is so fast that you cannot afford to hold on to what you've learned from past training and experiences. You have to expand and broaden your knowledge to make sure that you’ll always be on top of your game.

Becoming an investment banker is a continuous process that includes a lot of learning. It is not an easy profession and the industry is very competitive. Working in the business industry is one of the most lucrative jobs in the world but do not forget that in business, not everyone has the power to stay on top for a long time. There are possible risks, and money losses that could bring you down in an instant. So make sure to bank on skills, experiences and education since those will be your valuable assets in surviving the business world.