As a student myself, exploring the finance industry is not easy. Most people starting their careers in finance claim to want to work in investment banking. Glossy titles, six-figure salaries, and adrenaline-charged dealmaking have invested banking as the top-ranked target role of finance majors. But is it the only path? And what is it? 

Drawing inspiration from the Wall Street Prep Red Book and some other finance books, let’s explore the different possible paths in the finance industry, understanding the role of each one and how they contribute to the whole going through the most competitive investment banking to other high-paced environments, such as sales and trading or more stable ones, such as corporate finance. 

Investment Banking

Focusing on Mergers & Acquisitions or Initial Public offerings, investment bankers will advise companies with related deals. It is characterized by long hours and working under much pressure. Still, on the other hand, it is also characterized by seeing multi-billion-dollar deals unfold from the inside. 

“In investment banking, it’s not about knowing everything; it’s about learning fast, adapting faster, and executing with precision.” - Wall Street Prep Red Book

Private Equity

Buying a company, making it better operationally and financially, and selling it for a higher price to make a profit. A deep understanding of business strategy and financial engineering is required to improve the initial company. But the good thing is that you can make them grow from the inside and impact the outcome. 

“We buy good companies and make them great.” - Steve Schwarzman, Co-founder of Blackstone

Asset Management

Described as investing for others, individuals, or institutions, an asset manager puts money into the market based on their predictions, and the investor gets to take a percentage of the profit if they make some. These managers build a strategy around the ideal portfolio based on the client’s risk tolerance and preference. They adjust the criteria based on maximum profit and minimum risk. If you love predicting the market moves based on your macro and micro analysis and know how to balance a portfolio by taking calculated risks, that could be a good fit. 

“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.” - Warren Buffett

Sales & Trading

Adrenaline, making decisions in seconds, and market intuition drive this field, where traders buy and sell financial products like stocks, bonds, currencies, and derivatives in real time. 

“In trading, it’s not about being right. It’s about being less wrong than the other guy.” - Paul Tudor Jones

Corporate Finance

A more stable field would be corporate finance, where an investor stays in a company, focusing on making the business stronger and more efficient. You will help the company make smart financial decisions. That includes budgeting, forecasting future revenues and expenses, deciding where to invest money, and tracking the financial performance of different departments or business units. You're not just analyzing numbers, you’re influencing strategy. 

"Budgeting tells you where the company is going. Forecasting tells you where it might end up. Great finance teams know how to bridge the gap." - From a CFO roundtable hosted by McKinsey

Equity Research

Equity researchers make decisions behind the scenes, they analyze companies and sectors to build detailed reports, which traders and asset managers will then read to support their investment decisions. Producing reports where they go through a company overview, investment theses, industry analysis, financial analysis, valuation models, forecasts, risks & catalysts, and finally, the target price with a recommendation of buy, sell or hold. 

“A research report is a bridge between a company’s operations and the investor’s judgment.” - Harvard Business Review

FinTech & Venture Capital

More attached to innovation, technology and entrepreneurship, this field allows for shaping the future of finance. On the Venture Capital side, an important aspect is evaluating early-stage startups to decide where to invest. It’s about spotting potential before it’s obvious, assessing a startup’s team, product, market fit, and scalability. In FinTech, investors work with companies to redefine how to save, invest, pay, and access financial services, modernizing finance through code, data, and design. 

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” – Alan Kay

As a student, choosing blindly between all these paths with no experience in some of them can be challenging. That’s why understanding each one's role is an important step. If you enjoyed building those company reports in an equity valuation class, equity research might be a good option. If you can easily predict the market and think on your feet when deciding in seconds, sales & trading might be.

So, don’t limit yourself to one path if you’re beginning to explore the finance world, and remember: the most fulfilling careers aren’t always the loudest, they’re the ones that align with who you are becoming.