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As I've had a few questions/pm's thought I'd answer them here.

In Calgary, the simplest way ;-) to get into banking or equity research is to have your daddy (or grand-dad) be the president of an oil company - I was amazed at how many bankers were the kids of oilmen in town.

Failing winning that womb lottery, the finance program at the UofC plants many kids into this biz. Get top marks, get involved with a club (CPMT is the gold standard but I know bankers/er that were involved in business day or Dr Bobs (?) business games teams). Clubs provide all sorts of alumni and mentor opportunities that lead to good jobs.

For those that are interested in the biz, don't forget that it is a game of sales - you are always selling something (IB even moreso than ER) and those that get hired, and that do well, are those that can demonstrate that they will be able to bring in fees. Build your network.

Know the hotshots at your firm and impress them. Who are the guys that in 5 or 10 years are going to strike out on their own to make names for themselves?

Equity Research (for O&G) loves engineers. Especially those who have some finance or accounting chops.