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Hi Dhruvansh,
Investment bankers are thoroughly conversant with the accounting, financial and legal issues that impact business. They also have a good understanding of all business facets.Although a CA is equally qualified for the job, an MBA with specialization in finance from a good B-school is what companies look at the entry level.A stint at a real job in a big industrial enterprise would also help, especially if you intend to become a so-called industry specialist. It also helps to have at least a notional understanding of the business you are trying to finance, buy, sell, or restructure.
Being an investment banker requires having a Masters in Business Administration. However, if you're a college graduate, you may apply to be an entry level analyst for two years to ascertain whether you would like to continue in the profession. These analysts may have to opportunity to accompany their investment banking mentor and sit in on client meetings, having the chance to observe pitches and selling ideas as the investment banker visits clients about future sales and mergers. There are pros and cons to following the investment banking track.
Most investment bankers feel that though the downside in terms of doing menial work at times for hours and hours cannot be exaggerated, the rigors of the i-banking analyst programme are part and parcel of 'paying dues'. This essentially means that by investing two years of your youth where your life is not yours and you are on-call 24/7, you are networking for the future by interacting on a daily basis with people in the league of company CEOs. These people prove to be good connections in the future. Client exposure has always been a big selling point for young 20-somethings to enter analyst programmes. Barring IT, there are few entry-level positions where you could be so important when you are so young.
Investment banks want employees with a combination of strong analytical and interpersonal skills. Some jobs lean more towards one skill set than another (e.g. brokers need to be mainly sales people). A typical job of an equities analyst requires both analytic and interpersonal skills. The skills involved include:
Key Skill Area
People skills
Sales skills
Communication skills
Analytical skills
Ability to synthesize
Creative ability
Initiative
Hope it helps. Please feel free to revert. Click on the thumbs up or mark it as the best, if you found this useful.
Wish You Luck!