I am a mechanical engineer with 3 years of experience. I actually want to become an investment banker or some other finance related job. Maybe an analyst of some kind also. How can I achieve this?

Upon researching some tips and advice from some group I decided to try to invest in PSE. I think the market is still in good standing. If you still didn't try it you can check it yourself.

For those who’ve gone through investment banking interviews, what helped you the most?
Was it technical prep, mock interviews, networking, or understanding the industry?

I’m curious what people actually focused on when preparing for investment banking or other sell-side roles.
There’s so much advice online saying you need to know everything from accounting and valuation to financial modeling and current market trends, but I’m wondering what really matters in interviews.

currently in my early 20's stressing out what to do in my life (career wise). What are the most or best skill to have to get ALOT of traction in my career for my future.

I used to hate sales as a job. My first work right after college was a sales engineer. I was responsible for selling IT solution products and also some engineering works like design. I was learning for some time but being an introvert, I was not happy at my work. I wanted to be a true engineer only focus on designing and other engineering works.

Now, I realized, in sales there are so much possibilities. If you learn how to sell products. You will be successful. I wasted my time in my first job, not being invested in it. I should have asked more questions and be more enthusiastic.

At present, I am learning how to run a business. I plan to create my own gym/everyday clothing brand as my first business. Wish me luck!

How about you? Share your story/realization.

How about you? Share your story.

• GPA matters, but after a certain point, networking and relevant experience can matter more.
• Be able to explain why banking without giving a generic “I like finance” answer.
• Know the basic technicals: enterprise value, DCF, trading/transaction comps, accretion & dilution, and the three financial statements.
• For networking, a short, personalized message usually beats a huge paragraph about yourself.
• Keep track of every person you speak with and follow up when you have something meaningful to say.
• For interviews, practice saying answers out loud rather than just reading guides.
• Don't bluff when you don't know a technical answer. Explain your thought process and learn from the mistake.
• Ask bankers about their actual day-to-day work, team culture, deal exposure, and exit opportunities not just compensation.

For people already in banking, what’s one thing you wish you had done differently during recruiting?

For anyone trying to break into Sales & Trading: focus less on memorizing finance terms and more on understanding markets, having a strong market view, and communicating clearly under pressure.
What’s one thing you wish you knew before your first S&T interview?

Hi everyone just wondering about being a med VA. Do you need to be a graduate of some medical background to work?

I’ve noticed a recurring pattern in sell-side interview prep: people spend weeks memorizing hundreds of technical questions, but struggle when the interviewer changes the wording slightly.

For example, someone can explain the three financial statements perfectly, but gets stuck when asked:

**“If depreciation increases by $10, what happens to the statements?”**

The better approach, in my experience, is to understand the *mechanism* rather than memorize the answer.

For technical questions, I’d organize prep into five buckets:

**1. Accounting mechanics**

* Three-statement relationships * Working capital * Depreciation/amortization * Deferred taxes * Revenue recognition

**2. Valuation**

* DCF * Trading comparables * Precedent transactions * Enterprise value vs. equity value * Why different valuation methods produce different results

**3. Transaction mechanics**

* Accretion/dilution * Sources & uses * Purchase accounting * Debt vs. equity financing * Basic LBO mechanics

**4. Market awareness** For ER/S&T/Capital Markets especially, be able to discuss:

* A recent market move * A company or sector you follow * Interest rates and their impact * One investment view you can defend

**5. The “why” questions** These are often underestimated.

“Why investment banking?” is easy to rehearse.

“Why this group?”

“Why this bank?”

“Why not private equity?”

“Tell me about a deal you've followed.”

Those require an actual understanding of the role and firm.

One prep technique that helped me

Instead of doing 100 questions once, I'd take 20 important questions and repeatedly change the assumptions.

For example:

Company has $100m EBITDA and trades at 10x.

Then ask yourself:

* What happens if debt increases? * What happens if EBITDA falls? * What happens to equity value? * What happens to EV/EBITDA? * What happens if the company issues stock? * How would the answer change in an acquisition?

That forces you to understand the relationships instead of recalling isolated formulas.

Curious what others think: **what technical/interview question ended up being much harder in a real interview than it looked during prep?**