[admo415]

As was said before, it depends upon where you decide to work. New York is the best place (in terms of it looks the best on a resume) but it demands more hours. I also think the bonuses are a little higher in NY, but I am not sure on that. 85 hours is the average I would say, but yes sometimes you easily break that because a deal needs to get done.

In terms of major, I don't think there it matters to much. Just make sure that your perform well in school and get some interesting job experiences over the summers before the summer before your senior year, where hopefully you will be working for a bank. I am an economics major with a certificate in finance, but there are some English majors, engineers, and other types of majors from my school that are going into banking. It is during this summer that you get an idea of what working there full time would be like. It is not like a regular summer job where you spend all day doing nothing and getting coffee. You pretty much are a member of the deal team and regular demands are put on you that are also put on analysts. I think that if anyone is interested in the field they should try and get a summer position at one of the firms, since it is better to spend a summer doing it and figuring out if you like it or not than spending a couple of years.

There are some good perks, such as the high pay. In addition, at least at my firm, they give you $30 to order in dinner if you are there later than 7 pm and after 9 pm you can take a car home. Some people stay even when they do not have to in order to get the free food, as food in NYC is expensive. Also, if you have to come in on the weekends, you have the same dinner subsidy along with a lunch subsidy of $20ish dollars. Again, some people come in for a couple of hours, order food, get ready for the next week and leave (they count this towards their 85 hours a week).

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Adam