I am currently a 2nd year associate at a small mid-market firm here in Calgary (will be moving to VP once my PD&O is complete).
Like many things in life, what you hear is often the extreme rather than the norm.
Do expect: many long hours especially at the larger firms, to be around selfish and ambitious people, to be exposed to the type of wealth that you may not have been able to fully comprehend previously.
If you are serious about getting into the business, right out of school, you should be getting a finance degree (B.Comm) or an MBA. There is however the rare IB who comes from Economics or a Math background. More importantly you should clearly be in the top of your class, and have a heavy extracurricular involvement (most of the IB's who came out of Haskayne the year I graduated (2005) were CPMT members or presidents of one of the other campus clubs).
Expect to start as a summer student after your junior year, and then you would typically begin full-time September after you graduate. Analysts would start with a 'draw' of $75k, $15 signing bonus, and an annual bonus of up to 100% of your draw (note these figures may no longer be accurate as demand for new IB's has dropped in the last year or two in Calgary).
Attrition is around 50% in the first two years, then most firms would require the survivors to get an MBA before coming back as an Associate.
The real money comes in the VP and Managing Director levels (top MD's in Calgary will earn >$10MM, good VP's can make $1-$2MM). But the true wealth comes from the opportunity IB's receive to invest in business opportunities much before the general public.
Best regards,
~firebug
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