Adding IBCA Certification to Your MBA Can Beef Up Your Paycheck and More Nov 05, 2019| Article

Among your competing peers, the ones most likely to earn gold before their mid-career mark are the would-be investment bankers. Investment banking is the perfect blend of conventional salary security and lucrative gigs so you never really have to lose your wits over the looming recession threats. Here’s why getting an investment banking certification is worth its weight in gold.

An MBA Vs MBA +IB Certification

Jason Calacanis, a renowned Silicon Valley angel investor says “I do think that education has the worst value ratio”. MBA degrees have had their days in the sun. In disruptive times drawing a six-figure salary with a regular-cut MBA degree will be arduous if not impossible. The game has turned and a simple degree is unlikely to root you in your preferred career launchpad. Let’s take a look at the numbers:

A business school graduate on an average earns USD 150,000 a year whereas salaries for investment bankers come in two components: base salary and bonus. Graduate investment bankers who are worth their salt earn a base salary of USD 85,000- USD 100,000 and can boast a glistening paycheck of USD 200,000 (including bonuses and excluding pre-taxes and stubs). And just so to know where you are heading, an investment banking vice president drawing a base salary of USD 120,000 - USD 150,000 can take home USD 220,000-USD 400,000 per year.

Benefits Beyond Six figures

An impressive paycheck is just the beginning. When you choose to become an investment banker, you also get:

Legions of learning opportunities: Investment bankers are expected to know too much in too little time. You will have to religiously follow the market trends and develop your understanding of sustainable business. Toss that jack-of-all-trades notion out of your planning window. As an investment banker, aka a master of many trades, in addition to knowledge of accounting, finance, and financial modeling, you will also need outstanding soft skills. To sum it up, a successful investment banker is the perfect blend of champion knowledge, communication and persuasion.

Mint avenues to diversify: Unlike other specializations, investment bankers wear vivid skill hats and can comfortably diversify into copious fields. Investment banking professionals enjoy the privilege of parallel entry at different levels right from the financial analyst to managing directors or startup advisors.

Prized professional networking: Investment bankers get to build their connections pretty early in their careers. As they diversify in other fields, they are likely to come across successful former colleagues.

Tips to Thrive in Investment Banking Career:

Getting certified is a must. You can also boost your profile by:

Learning to code: CEO of Barclays, Anthony Jenkins says that the banking industry is undergoing a “technical revolution”. Leading Banks like HSBC, Barclays and UBS are automating their processes and fintech start-ups are mushrooming. With metamorphosing job profiles, new vacancies are likely to crop-up.

Planning your career: Big bracket firms including Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs are increasingly outsourcing their works. If you have begun your career in the investment banking arena, then identify the works that cannot be outsourced and build on them. Alternatively, you can also choose to be an independent advisor but that must come once you have substantial experience in hand.

Ready to hop-in this career treasure ship? Know more about IBCA certifications here.