Advising companies on deals: buying businesses, raising money and listing on the stock market.
What the job is
Investment bankers advise companies, investors and governments on their biggest money decisions - buying another company, raising money from investors, or listing on the stock market. Work runs in long projects with tight deadlines, and analysts do the research, the models and the materials the advice is built on.
A day in the role
Build and check the numbers behind a deal - the model, the charts, the comparisons
Put together client presentations with your team
Research a company or a market and summarise what matters
Expect long days, and much longer ones when a deal is live
Skills that matter
Attention to detail - bankers notice the small errors first
Excel and financial modelling
Commercial awareness: a view on real deals
Resilience and stamina
Typical routes in
Spring week in first year, or in sixth form for some programmes
Summer internship in your penultimate year - the main route to a graduate offer
Degree apprenticeship straight from sixth form
Graduate analyst role after university
Live investment banking roles on onTime
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How much do investment banking analysts earn in the UK?
At top banks in London, a first-year analyst's base salary is typically £50,000-£70,000+, with bonuses on top. Pay varies by firm, role and location. onDesk does not guarantee any job or salary.
Can you get into investment banking from sixth form?
Yes - through spring weeks and degree apprenticeships, though most analysts join after a degree. Applications for the university routes start in your first year, so the groundwork happens earlier than most students expect.
What degree do you need for investment banking?
Any discipline. Banks hire economists, historians, engineers and scientists. What matters is the evidence: applications, online tests, interviews and commercial awareness.
How competitive is investment banking?
Very. Top banks receive thousands of applications for a few hundred places, and the deadlines are among the earliest in any industry. Preparation is what separates the successful applicants.
Other areas we coach
Investment banking
Advising companies on deals: buying businesses, raising money and listing on the stock market.
Suited to students who are organised, resilient and happy to be pushed hard on detail.
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