[ScottieK]

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I'm getting my MBA at a top tier business school. I have zero experience in anything in "banking". Should I look elsewhere for work? If I did pursue something in your industry, what position/function should I pursue right out of school? Where do MBAs have the best fun/value/lifestyle in banking?

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Well, banking's not glamorous. I will say that when I got my MBA, I did not want to work for a bank doing what I do. Loan underwriting? You gotta be kidding me. I wanted to be a stockbroker (all marketing majors and cold calling), an investment analyst, venture capitalist analyst...something a little flashier.

At my first job, a few people came over from a local stock brokerage. They were all brokers, and they said that they made good money during the late 90's (hell, who didn't make good money before the tech bubble burst, 9/11, and Enron?) But, when the market turns bad, it turns the worst for the new brokers because they don't have clients with a lot of net worth. So their clients stop investing. The big clients go to the experienced brokers. Since their salaries are heavy on commissions, my friends couldn't stay there and make rent. But they did have realtime access to so much market information and analysis it seemed ridiculous. One guy's specialty was riding penny stocks. Pretty good at it too.

My first job was at a CPA firm. We didn't do audits or tax. We did government contract work. It sucked. Long hours, lots of travel (which was fun at first, but got tiresome) and no real sense of accomplishment. I know a lot of audit and tax people, and they seem to have fun...in a really nerdy sort of way. But they get burned out a lot too.

I actually love loan underwriting. I take client financials, tax returns, personal financials, just about anything I can get my hands on, and run it through our risk and profitability models. I also structure the deal, calculate debt service ability and repayment, and I look for financial trends. I've seen more financials in my first six months than in all of my business classes put together. I see how businessmen set up their operations (holding companies, tax structures, fiscal year ends, etc.) How and why they move money. Why they choose to do deals in real estate. 80% of them are pretty damn smart.

I remember in business class, prof's always said "financials tell a story." That's not accurate. Financials raise questions for you to ask the business owner. The answers you get complete the story.

The game plan for a loan underwriter is to move up to Relationship Manager, the guy who calls on clients and meets with them to see what else they need. Those guys work hard, but they have a lot of fun going to business lunches, golf outings, and schmoozing clients. They make pretty good money, esp. the ones in real estate.

As for my job, I've got more benefits than I know what to do with. Very little travel. Very little overtime. Our unit is one of the best in the company, and we're heavy on real estate. I'm learning a LOT about what it takes to run a business. So if we're talking about a traditional bank (not an investment bank like Wachovia, although we do have an investment division,) then I would choose loan underwriter for an entry position.

Sure, you could go to the consumer side, which is mostly sales, and that's fine....but you won't learn nearly as much about business. Also, you get to deal with customers who are all over the map and bitching about why they've got five overdraft fees. Dealing with business people is much easier, IMO.

Fun? Yes. My bank does a lot to keep me happy.

Value? Absolutely. It's like business school on steroids, and they pay me to attend. I meet with our city president (25 yrs. experience, one of the best) or someone weekly to learn about some aspect of commercial credit. Last Thursday was acquisition and development loans for real estate. Also, I feel like I'm adding value and getting something accomplished. Just driving around town...occasionally I'll see a new retail building going up or whatever....hey, I worked on that deal. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Lifestyle? Good. I make money. I rarely travel for work. You may want to travel, but I've already done that bit. It wore me out. I rarely work overtime, and I haven't worked a weekend yet. One thing a CPA firm WILL do to you is make you work insane amounts of overtime with no compensation. Fiscal year end for auditors, April 15th for tax guys. I've heard all sorts of 80 hour work week / stayed until 3am / took all my work home stories. The CPA test is another thing accountants have to deal with. Not for me.

That's just my take. Look around, talk to working friends....see what interests you. You don't really need banking experience to get my job. You do need a working knowledge of what financial statements look like, some idea of how a business works, how different legal structures (C corp, S corp, LLC, etc.) operate, and be analytical / nitpicky by nature. Your supervisors should teach you the rest (really the way it should be in any occupation.) Good luck.

ScottieK