What is Investment Banking?

i think, instead of going through a million certifications, one could cold call or mail people in banking, try to learn something, maybe about opportunities/tips and so on. If nothing, it won't really hurt you at least. You won't be spending money, and the good bit is, just in case it clicks, you could get your foot in. Maybe an internship, but that's all we want ,right??
Of course, it is easier said than done, but it surely is an effective method. Mind you though, you would have to mail at least 432,000 ppl before you get your first reply. But then, it is EFFECTIVE.

You are right that we need to speak to people.
But cold calling doesn't always work. It is better if you can get yourself introduced by someone.
Then you would need to send much less than 432,000 emails. :)

true...every word...
but then again, it is amazing if you know someone in your family/friends/alumni who is in banking, or someone whom you know knows someone in banking or someone whom you............................................... ......this goes and on and on...honestly, you ll be really lucky if that happens, as Investment banking (front office) is still not really popular in india, and by that I mean, only the upper echelons of our educational pyramid get to be there..
So, if someone can introduce you to a banker, and you can possibly impress him/her by dressing smartly or with your Sonu Nigam resembling voice or your stand up comedy or by merely taking care of his/her kid (piggyriding etc) or by peeling bananas in 7 different ways or whatever you do well, then you have a shot...but most of us do not know ppl in banking, and i cant peel bananas in 7 different ways. So, doing all the NCFM certifications and then expecting Goldman Sachs begging you to join them, could be very passive and what one could perhaps do is mail a million ppl, talk about your interests, suggestions...show your curiosity..the works...
and it does work....you need patience though....
Again, NCFMs are good, but for your personal knowledge. Unless you want to get into brokerage, where NCFM these days has become a necessity, I wouldnt really advise someone for NCFM...
Instead, you could well use that money on Financial Modelling and Valuation courses or learning Excel/Macros/VB.

I agree solely with you...in fact i tried doing those methods u mentioned long time back...and I actually had one guy form a top-notch global firm interested in offering me something....but then it all boiled down to requisite skills like excel modeling which I still hav to work on....I think ill be in a better position after I learn those skills cuz many of these firms dont hav analyst training programs and they expect u to know something

ah...thats really nice...now obviously, our first mail shouldnt really go to the bulge brackets. You could start with a few local boutiques around your place....
@time4apogee : So this top notch firm that was interested in you. Could you please elucidate further, as to how you approached them, put across your case etc etc...this could help quite a few of us you know.

Also, guys....if you have contacts in the industry or know a thing or 2, we can surely help each other..

By the way, just out of curiosity....if we were offered a spot in an IB, keeping in mind that it is a front office role, what sort of money can we expect? I mean of course, this is asking a bit too much, but then again, a rough figure for an analyst??

Now, however, there is something I really want to add. If I am a working professional, and a busy one at that, how can I really participate in all the Investment Banking tutorials that we have in the market. For eg, I am in Bangalore, and really interested in joining a few courses in Investment Banking. But the problem is, I can't attend classes in the weekdays and hence lose the opportunity to learn Financial Modelling etc. Surely,there are online tutorials, youtube videos, but then how many of us can really hack the CIA database by watching "How to hack CIA database"??i hope you get my point. Any suggestions anyone???

Again, please share any contacts/information you have, regarding ppl we can contact or send a mail to.

I think the discussion is getting interesting. We should try to attend good finance events in India. This can help us to understand what's going on in the industry and also develop some contacts ;) . What do you guys think?

ya naveen, I completely agree with you..
So guys please post if any finance event takes place in and around india.

Dear All,

I am glad to see that you guys are interested in finance events in India. We already have a link to post finance events in India:
http://www.daulatguru.com/events

Please send us the details of any event that you find interesting at info@daulatguru.com. We will post the details on the calendar. This will make it easy to share the information with everyone.

Thank you,
Sougata

Hey Sougata,
how does one know about the various events happening and that too more specific. So for example, if I'm interested in IB, then attending an event related to IB and having I-bankers around would be of interest to me..

And especially in Kolkata.....as this is the place where least number of events are held.
and where I live :D