i'm a jnr level investment banker. life is tough.. will i want to stay long enough to become a mid level banker (from his all-in comp, he seems like a VP) like James above - pulling in half a million a year? nah. i'm going to private equity or a hedge fund - better compensation, better life.

having said that ibanking is a fairly safe path to a decent salary - all you got to do is put in the hours and slowly climb the ranks (and of course to survive layoffs - this can be mitigated by being flexible - i.e. relocate to somewhere better for a few years when times are not so good)

and to those kids who say "my dream is to be an investment banker" i think you should do some research into what it actually is as well. i've spoken to many who say they want to be or are "investment bankers" without knowing what it means...