Investment Banker
Investment bankers advise companies, governments and private owners on raising money, buying or selling businesses and restructuring debt, then stay with the deal until it closes.
- Median salary
- $134,300
3.5%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 9,900
1.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +12.7%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- 6 out of 10
- Average hours
- 47/wk
+7h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
- You would work in the corporate finance division of a bank or a boutique advisory firm, advising clients on capital raises, mergers and acquisitions and debt restructuring.
- People mix the role up with stockbroking or funds management, though the work here is winning and executing deals for clients, not trading shares or running portfolios.
- Most entrants hold a bachelor degree in finance, commerce or economics, and a fair number add a postgraduate qualification.
How much do investment bankers earn?
The median full-time salary for an investment banker is $134,300 per annum, before tax, up $28,600 since 2018.
Bonuses make up a large slice of total pay in this job, and they are tied to the deals your team closes and how the firm's year has gone, so two people on the same base salary can end the year with very different amounts. Ask how the bank sets its bonus pool and whether awards come as cash, shares or a deferral spread over several years, since deferred amounts can shrink if you leave early. Advertised numbers often cover base salary alone, so check whether super is included and what the team has actually paid out recently.
What does an investment banker do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Building and reworking financial models to test what a deal looks like at different prices and assumptions
- Preparing pitch books, valuations and comparable company analysis for clients weighing a sale, a takeover or a capital raise
- Sitting in on due diligence sessions with lawyers and accountants, tracing the numbers behind a transaction back to source documents
- Updating pricing and timing advice as markets move during a live deal
- Drafting the board papers and client updates a senior banker will present
What skills do investment bankers need?
Employers look for financial analysis and modelling, financial reporting, strategy development, backed by Bloomberg Terminal fluency and strong client relationships and advisory.
Specialist skills
- Financial analysis and modelling
- Financial reporting
- Strategy development
- Data analysis
- Risk and internal controls
Software and tools
- Bloomberg Terminal
- Excel (advanced)
- FactSet
- Pitchbook
- Capital IQ
General skills
- Client relationships and advisory
- Stakeholder management
- Written communication
Is the job growing?
About 9,900 people work as investment bankers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 12.7% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become an investment banker?
Here's the path most investment bankers take, step by step.
- 1Complete a bachelor degree in finance, commerce or economics
Most degrees take three years, and grades carry real weight because the large firms screen transcripts before they interview.
- 2Learn to build a financial model from scratch
Practise three-statement models, discounted cash flow valuations and comparable company analysis, and learn your way around Bloomberg or Capital IQ, because interviews and internships test those skills directly.
- 3Win a summer internship in your penultimate year
Australian banks fill most of their graduate places from their own internship programs, and a strong summer usually converts into a graduate offer.
- 4Expect an analyst program with study support
First and second year analysts commonly work while completing the CFA program or a graduate diploma, and some firms cover the fees.
Ready to apply as an investment banker?
Whether you're working toward becoming an investment banker or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can an investment banker move to?
Moving into Finance Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $16,700 a year more on average.
- Finance ManagerRecorded move$151,000+$16,700
- Management ConsultantRecorded move$127,100−$7,200
- Private Equity AssociateSuggested move$148,200+$13,900
- Venture CapitalistSuggested move$148,200+$13,900
Thick lines are moves people were recorded making in Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility (income tax records, 2011-12 to 2020-21). Thin lines are moves we suggest from skill overlap and entry requirements.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
Finance Manager Investment bankers bring deal analysis, forecasting and capital planning to corporate finance management, though accounting knowledge may need formal study.Known move | +$16,700 | 40% | reskill |
Private Equity Associate Investment bankers bring valuation, due diligence and deal structuring skills to private equity investing and portfolio work. | +$13,900 | 48% | short course |
Venture Capitalist Investment bankers bring financial modelling, market assessment and transaction execution to venture capital investment decisions. | +$13,900 | 50% | short course |
Investor Relations Manager Investment bankers bring capital markets knowledge and financial communication skills to managing company investor relations. | +$13,900 | 63% | minimal |
Management Consultant Investment bankers bring financial modelling, transaction analysis and client presentation skills to management consulting engagements.Known move | −$7,200 | 30% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as an investment banker?
The typical investment banker is 45 years old; 69% are men, 81% work full-time, and full-timers average 47 hours a week.
- 45
- Median age
- 31%
- Female share
- 81%
- Full-time
- +7h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being an investment banker?
Your week follows the deal you are on, so a quiet Tuesday can turn into a 2am finish when a client decides to move. In your first year or two you are the one building the models, running the data room and chasing document edits, working to an associate and a director who answer to the client. Deal teams are small and the client sets the pace, so deadlines shift and the hours stretch. If you like working in a tight group on a problem with a deadline and a dollar figure attached, the intensity can be addictive; if you need predictable evenings, this deal cycle is hard to sustain.
What people like
- You follow a deal from pitch to signing. You can trace the link between a model you built and the price a client eventually agreed to, which is rare so early in a career.
- Small teams put you near senior people. A director reads your work and takes you into client meetings, so you watch how a transaction is actually negotiated.
- The feedback loop is fast. Markets and clients answer quickly, so you find out within days whether your analysis and advice held up.
- You build deep knowledge of one industry. Bankers specialise in sectors such as mining, property or healthcare, and that expertise travels with you to the next job.
What people find hard
- Hours follow the deal, not your calendar. A live transaction can mean late nights and weekend work at short notice, and a quiet period can flip without warning.
- Early work is repetitive. You will spend hours formatting pitch books, updating comparables and checking footnotes, and a lot of that effort is invisible to the client.
- Mistakes are public. A wrong number in a model or a document can reach the client and the whole deal team, and the reaction is quick.
- The hierarchy is strict. Instructions come down through the associate and the vice president, and you have little say over which deals you are staffed on.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ investment bankers?
Financial and Insurance Services employs the largest share of investment bankers, followed by Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services.
Top employing industries
- 1Financial and Insurance Services
- 2Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services
- 3Public Administration and Safety
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 46% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 31.5% | |
| Year 12 or below | 8.6% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 8% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 3.5% |
Will AI replace investment bankers?
Moderate exposure. Not replaced, but changed. AI is taking on some tasks and the rest of the job shifts around them.
AI and automation already carry a lot of the research, formatting and first-pass modelling that juniors once did, so the drafting work here is exposed. Software can pull comparable company data, summarise a data room and build a template model, but pricing a transaction, holding a negotiation together and reading a client's real position depend on judgement and relationships. The skill worth building early is being able to interrogate a model and explain a valuation in plain English, because checking and challenging the output is where your value sits.
How a typical week splits
- Preparing pitch books and client presentations25% of the week
Design tools generate slides and charts from a data feed, so the drafting time falls and the emphasis moves to the story and the numbers behind it.
- Due diligence and data room review25% of the week
Document search tools flag unusual contracts and inconsistencies in a data room, and deciding which findings move the price is your call.
- Building and updating financial models30% of the week
Templates and add-ins handle the structure, but you still choose the assumptions and test what happens when they change.
- Client meetings and negotiation20% of the week
Reading a room, pushing back on a price and holding a relationship through a difficult process happen face to face, with the tools only supplying the numbers.
How we work this out
We break each job into its main tasks, estimate the share of a typical week each one takes, and judge how far current AI and automation tools reach into it. The score out of 10 starts from the job's overall rating (low is 1 to 3, moderate 4 to 6, high 7 to 10) and the task split places it within that range. Source: Career Tips analysis of each role's main tasks.
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from investment banker work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Finance Manager
Solid skill overlap (40%), reskill to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
- Management Consultant
Some skill overlap (30%), reskill to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming an investment banker
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do investment bankers earn?
Investment bankers earn a median of $134,300 per year before tax, and most also receive a bonus on top. How much that bonus comes to depends on the deals your team closes and how the firm's year has gone, so find out whether awards are paid in cash or deferred over several years before you weigh up an offer.
How do you become an investment banker?
Most entrants finish a bachelor degree in finance, commerce or economics, then win a summer internship at a bank and convert it into a graduate offer. Grades matter for the first screen, and you will need to talk confidently through a valuation and a discounted cash flow model in interviews.
Are investment bankers in demand?
Investment bankers are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 12.7% over the decade to 2035. Openings cluster in Sydney and Melbourne at a handful of large employers and boutique advisory firms, so find out who is recruiting in the year you graduate.
Will AI replace investment bankers?
Software now handles the drafting, so pitch books, comparable company tables and first-pass models come together far faster than they did a decade ago, and juniors spend fewer hours on them. Clients still pay a person to argue a price, work out whether a board has the votes to sell and hold a relationship through a difficult process. That points to where to put your effort: pick an industry and learn how its economics work, because that knowledge is harder to copy than the spreadsheet around it.
What can investment bankers move into later?
Two common exits are private equity, where valuation and due diligence carry straight across, and a finance manager role inside a company, where pay is $16,700 more and the hours are steadier, though you will need to build up your accounting knowledge. Management consulting is another option, and the pay there is $7,200 less, with the pitch and presentation skills you already have doing much of the work.
How many hours do investment bankers work?
Full-time investment bankers average 47 hours a week, and a live deal pushes that well past the average, with late nights and weekend work. Ask in interviews how the team divides work across a deal and what the quiet periods look like.
Related roles
- Finance Manager
- Private Equity Associate
- Venture Capitalist
- Management Consultant
- Investor Relations Manager
- Investment Analyst
Not sure this is you? Take the career quiz and get a ranked shortlist of roles that fit how you like to work.
Career advice
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