OK, I admit I haven't got the slightest experience in the investment banking world, and have no idea what really goes on in there, but talking to friends who've gone through summer internships like places like Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley, or reading pages like Sammy or Soojin's who whine and complain about their work, I have to ask: just what's the allure of i-banking that draws so many bright minds into it? I do hear that some of the salaries that the senior partner-level people make are insane, but then again, don't the junior analysts make a pittance, considering the inordinate amount of hours worked?
So, you may ask: what's so great about the software industry? Well, there, at least you're contributing to a deliverable product, and in all cases, you can clearly and objectively delineate and identify the part of the code that you worked on, even though it may not be visible to end-users. But with i-banking, you're just someone crunching numbers, passing them on to superiors who pass them on to their superiors, right?
Or take consulting or law -- I do know many friends there, and in those areas, you may be doing "grunt work" as well, but, at least you're (supposedly) helping others as well and contributing to a clear objective, rather than just increasing a bank's coffers and wealth. And you're (generally) not working the crazy hours that bankers always seem to work.
Is it the business and networking opportunities? Does i-banking really have these opportunities that other professions don't?
Don't get me wrong -- I'm not knocking i-banking, but just genuinely curious. Any i-banker or someone familiar with i-banking want to chime in, and enlighten this ignoramus? What attracted you to i-banking? Or are you just sadomachistic? =) Please post a comment, or email me, because I really am dying to know.