“Before I became so fervent about Private Equity, I thoroughly considered all my other career options: hedge funds and VC.”

-Hicks Musings, The Leveraged Sellout

One common question I’ve been getting lately goes something like this:

“Inquisitor, I just started as a freshman at Harvard. I am majoring in economics and finance and I’m in the stock market club, the investment banking club, and I even borrowed $500,000 of my Dad’s money to invest in my personal accounts. So far I’ve earned a 50% return in 6 months.

How can I make sure that I work at Blackstone by the time I’m 25?“

Another variant of this same question:

“I am only doing investment banking so that I can pay off all my student loans in 2 years, but I have no interest in ever doing it again. What are the exit opportunities like for Associates at boutique banks who want to get into hedge funds?”

For those breaking into investment banking, the exit opportunities are always a big motivation.

It makes sense on paper: you go from working 90-100 hours a week and doing mindless work to working 60 hours a week and doing meaningful work 100% of the time, right? Right?

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In this week’s edition of reader Q&A, I cover questions about tailoring an investment banking resume for sales & trading, breaking into finance from pharmaceuticals and the relative importance of international experience, in this case experience in China. I continue to receive many investment banking summer internship questions as well as lifestyle and “breaking in” questions so stay tuned for more on those.

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“I just purchased my third pair of Ferragamo loafers, and I think my wardrobe is nearly complete! Looking into my closet makes me harder than I get when I smell the deep, earthy ink aroma of a fresh WSJ.”

-My Wardrobe, Leveraged Sellout (11/12/2004)

I get a lot of questions on good reasons to say you want to be an investment banker. The good news for everyone out there is that the list of reasons to do investment banking is fairly standardized. There’s not a whole lot you can say that I haven’t already heard before, and to be honest, standard answers like “I want to learn a lot” are still good ones.

But as an investment banking analyst, there is typically more downside than upside in most of what you do.

The same goes for interviewing and especially superday interviews. It’s easier to give a bad answer than to surprise someone with a brilliant answer, because there are no brilliant answers: just good answers, mediocre answers and terrible answers. Today I’m going to focus on the downside: mediocre and terrible answers. Reasons NOT to do investment banking.

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What is Investment Banking?: Ari Gold: What Bankers Actually Do, Why NOT Do Investment Banking

Investment Banking Lifestyle: A Day in the Life - Worst Day and Best Day, How to Stay Fit, Investment Banking Wardrobe for Men, Investment Banking Lingo Part 1 and Part 2, A Week in the Life (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

Breaking into Finance: How to Get an Investment Banking Job, Networking into Investment Banking, Recruiting in a Tough Market, Breaking in from Engineering, Breaking in from Law, Breaking in from the Back Office

Investment Banking Resumes: How to Write an Investment Banking Resume, How Investment Bankers Read Resumes

Investment Banking Interviews: Investment Banking Interview Guide, The Interview Selection Process, How to Close Your Interviews

Summer Internships: Summer Intern Success Guide, How to Dominate Your Summer Internship, Tips from a Former Summer Analyst, What You Do as a Summer Analyst, 10 Summer Internship "Don't's", How Summer Interns Get Full-Time Offers

Investment Banking Salaries: Investment Banking Salaries vs. McDonald's, Why Investment Bankers Make So Much Money, 2008 Analyst Bonuses

Private Equity / Buyside Jobs: Private Equity Resumes, Private Equity Interviews, The Myth of the Buyside Job, Headhunters: Friend or Foe?

Specific Groups: UBS LA, Boutiques, Restructuring, The Back Office

Quitting Finance: The Conference Room: How You Get Fired, The Farewell Email, A Day in the Life of a Former Investment Banker