What is it that makes Investment Banking so appealing to Graduates from the leading Universities around the world?
Awe-inspiring figures would suggest the dinero has some part to play in it, with median salaries at entry-level positions in UK Investment Banks being £42,000 in autumn 2011; with rumours of some banks offering over £50,000. Jeevan Vasagar from The Guardian, wrote earlier this year that, ‘a survey of final-year students at 30 sought-after universities,[…] finds that among those already looking for jobs, investment banking is the most popular choice – with 8.5% applying’.
I can easily understand why one would want to be an investment banker, the thrill, the responsibility, the power even for some. But in a supposed post-material society, why are the Banks throwing increasing amounts of money at students who have during the last three years survived on instant noodles? It just does not seem to make all that much sense. Yes, they do want to attract the best and brightest, we understand that, but why do they believe such a gigantic carrot is necessary?
Perhaps because it has to be big enough to beat off the shame set upon the future bankers by their peers, with the Occupy Wall Street movement spreading to campus. Last November, we saw Yale undergrads confront their fellow students who were attending a Morgan Stanley information session, the former chanting slogans such as “25% is too much talent spent”, referring to the approximate proportion of those who end up on the Ivy to Wall Street jet. Can the hype present on the top campuses be solely justified by high salaries – probably not? When we ask around, what often comes back is the argument: ‘I’m only going to do this for two years or so before I move on to do X’. It sounds like a default option, void of any passion – isn’t your first job something you want to be thrilled about?
The rationale behind this is sound, having J.P. Morgan on your resume is slick and opens many doors; a great solution for students somewhat anxious of the future. We have just got to admire the marketing behind these banks, they hit the spot in terms of addressing student’s anxieties, making the recent financial crisis sound like a dying echo in the distance. Or maybe the whole mess is the reason why these young adults are resorting to their survival instinct, in a tough and unforgiving graduate job market.
If you would just ask yourself this: how many of these kids dreamt of being bankers when they grew up?
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