I was working in an entry level, support role in the institutional money management division at Bankers Trust upon graduating from Bucknell University in 1992 and many people on Wall Street suggested that being in a structured analyst program was a great way to network in the industry and learn about finance and corporate strategy. After working at Bankers Trust for over a year, an opportunity arose at Broadview Associates and I landed and accepted the job.

I networked a bunch. I spoke to anyone that would speak to me on Wall Street - sales people, traders, research analysts, etc. I was not able to land the investment banking analyst role upon graduation as many of the investment banks did not recruit at Bucknell, so I had to be creative and aggressive in my pursuit of the job while working in a related field at Bankers Trust.

I think the skills needed change throughout the career of an investment banker. In the analyst role, you need to be comfortable multi tasking in a high pressure environment. Strong analytical and modeling skills are required for sure.

During my two years as an analyst, I was fortunate to be a part of eight technology merger / acquisition transactions. Despite being the most junior member of the typical three person team (Managing Director / Associate / Analyst), it was very exciting to close a deal after months of hard work.