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Business & Finance

Investment Banker

Investment bankers help companies raise money and execute deals. The pay is exceptional and so are the hours — a high-variance, high-intensity career.

Median salary (BLS)

$175,000

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$110k – $500k

Job outlook

+7% (faster than average)

AI exposure

Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $112,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Plan a path to Investment Banker

Education

Typical entry: Bachelor's degree

Bachelor's (often from a target school); MBA common for advancement.

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How to qualify

Estimate

Cost to qualify

$40,500–$153,000

Time to qualify

4.5 yr

Renewal

  1. 1

    Bachelor's degree

    Degree

    Four years at public in-state rates — average published tuition & fees ≈ $11,610/yr, plus books. Private and out-of-state run higher; grant aid lowers most students' actual net price.

    $40,000–$150,000 · 4 years source

  2. 2

    Industry certification (optional for many roles)

    Certification

    Role-dependent — e.g. CPA, Series 7/65, PMP, SHRM. Not always required, but often expected for advancement.

    $500–$3,000 · 6 months source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Investment Banker" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

Typical progression

  1. Investment Banker Intern

    Internship

    $55,000

    ~4 mos to advance

  2. Junior Investment Banker

    Entry / Junior

    $110,000

    ~2 yrs to advance

  3. Investment Banker

    Established

    $175,000

    ~3 yrs to advance

  4. Senior Investment Banker

    Senior

    $337,500

Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.

Key skills

Financial modelingStaminaNegotiationAttention to detail

A typical day

  • Build deal models
  • Prepare pitch materials
  • Execute transactions

Fields of study

Finance · Economics · Business

Top colleges for Business & Finance

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.

Related careers

Other careers from this field of study

Mapped by field-of-study code (Finance, Economics, Business), not by job-title guessing.