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Maybe you just saw Wall Street while staying up late last weekend, and thought “Hey, that Gordon Gecko is freakin' AWESOME!”, or you saw the antics of Ivan Boesky on TV in the '80's and thought but for his few, uh, errors in judgment, you'd want to be just like him. If you love the world of finance and have considered an investment banking career, take heart, you may not have to go back to school to get your MBA with an emphasis in finance after all (but it definitely helps). Investment banking firms are on the lookout for candidates with other advanced degrees as well. In case you aren't sure, a brief overview of what the heck an investment banker does all day may be in order.

Here's what an investment bankers does; they're a finance mucky-muck. They are financial advisers at the highest level. Investment bankers are retained by firms and high powered individuals to analyze and put together big business deals; the biggest actually. Company mergers, IPOs, privatizations, and even planning the future business strategy of a company can all be handled by an investment banking firm. When a big deal such as this is made the investment bankers must structure, present, and help finalize them. If you're allergic to hard work and extremely long hours, you should shy away from a career in this field. However if you love business, are unafraid of deals that can stretch on for weeks, are extremely detail oriented, and have a talent for communication, investment banking could be just the career you're looking for.

Can you be well rewarded for your 60 – 80 hour weeks? Hell yes, you can be well rewarded. You can not only get handsome monetary compensation, but some great perks as well. Junior associates typically start in the $70K - $90K range right out of business school, and can make 5 times than with salary and bonuses as they rise through company ranks. Some make even more. Extras such as expense accounts, full insurance, health club memberships, country club memberships, company cars and use of the corporate retreat on weekends are typical for upper-level associates as well.

Unless you are a cut above, or have impeccable business school credentials however, you'll probably begin your investment banking career as an analyst. As the name implies, an analyst spends much of their time doing research, number crunching, and bean counting. The goal of an investment bank is to create a winning deal and a presentation to ensure they land it. To make sure they can pull this off, investment banking firms often require teams of analysts to delve into every angle of the businesses, industries and economies that affect the impending deal.

If you're hired as a junior associate you'll spend most of your time either supervising analysts or working with associates preparing presentations. As investment bankers rise from junior to senior status, they begin to work on more meaty parts of the deals, planning their client's corporate financial strategy, and prospecting for new clients. Now is when they can really make tremendous amounts of money.

Goldman Sachs, historically the benchmark for investment banker compensation, has actually slowed in it's compensation of employees. GS's 2007, Q2 results indicate the firm paid out a still impressive $4.89B in compensation and benefits! In 2006 they were listed as having 22,425 employees worldwide. That averages out to just over $218,000 in quarterly compensation for every employee. Subtracting ¼ of CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein's $43.8 million annual compensation (according to Forbes, and not including stock options), still leaves the average employee with a very nice $217,571 each. Remember, this is quarterly compensation.

You may not be able to begin your career at one of the most prestigious firms such as Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, Morgan Stanley, Lazard, or Credit Suisse, but thankfully there are hundreds of firms from which to choose in order to get your foot in the industry. You should, however, be prepared to relocate to New York. Most of the investment banking activity and firms are located there. Other opportunities exist in Charlotte NC, Minneapolis MN, London England, and San Francisco if you just can't make yourself move to New York.

If you like intellectually stimulating work, wouldn't live anywhere else but NYC, live and breathe business, want a healthy compensation package and aren't afraid to work grueling hours at a job you love in order to get it, investment banking is the career for you! Actually, if the preceding does describe you, a career in investment banking bears looking into, as future demand is predicted to be strong. Just look out for the scores of unemployed mortgage bankers and brokers you might have for competition.

For more information about how you can start a lucrative and rewarding career in the investment banking field, check out the Comprehensive Guide to Investment Banking by K.Thomas Liaw, over at Amazon. If you decide you have to have a copy, I'll get a few pennies from Amazon, which will help keep the ole' blog a runnin'.

If you're about to interview for a position in the investment banking field, take a look at these actual investment banking interview questions. It costs a little bit, but it's probably money well spent, especially if you contrast that with the cost of school and the compensation at stake. The interview will make or break you, and solid preparation is the key to aceing it and getting the job (or at least a second interview). You can buy their interview prep guide, but they also have some free information available for download that can help out in your employment quest.