An Insight Into the Industry

Investment Banking (Lehman Brothers 2008) really gives me lots of insights of the industry. Here is something that I find interesting.
The players in the industry can be sorted into 4 main groups: analysts, associates, vice presidents, directors/managing directors (DM). I will quote each of them a "brief" introduction from the book.

Analysts:

Analysts  are  the  grunts  of  the  corporate  finance  world.  They  often  toil
endlessly with little thanks, little pay (when figured on an hourly basis), and
barely enough free time to sleep four hours a night. Typically hired directly
out of top undergraduate universities, this crop of bright, highly motivated
kids  does  the  financial  modeling  and  basic  entry-level  duties  associated
with any corporate finance deal.
Modeling  every  night  until  2  a.m.  and  not  having  much  of  a  social  life
proves to be unbearable for many an analyst.  Furthermore, when not at the
office, analysts can be found feverishly typing on their blackberries.  Not
surprisingly,   after   two   years,   many   analysts   leave   the   industry.
Unfortunately, many bankers recognize the transient nature of analysts, and
work  them  hard  to  get  the  most  out  of  them  they  can.  The  unfortunate
analyst that screws up or talks back too much may never get quality work,
spending his days bored until 11 p.m. waiting for work to come, stressing
even  more  than  the  busy  analyst.  These  are  the  analysts  that  do  not  get
called to work on live transactions, and do menial work or just put together
pitchbooks all of the time.  The very best analysts often get identified early
by top performing MDs and VPs, thus finding themselves staffed on many
live transactions.

Associates:
Much like analysts, associates hit the grindstone hard. Working 80- to 100
hour weeks, usually fresh out of top-tier MBA programs, associates stress
over  pitchbooks  and  models  all  night,  become  experts  with  financial
modeling on Excel, and sometimes shake their heads wondering what the
point  is.  Unlike  analysts,  however,  associates  more  quickly  become
involved  with  clients  and,  most  importantly,  are  not  at  the  bottom  of  the
totem  pole.  Associates  quickly  learn  to  play  quarterback  and  hand-off
menial  modeling  work  and  research  projects  to  analysts.  However,
treatment from vice presidents and managing directors doesn’t necessarily
improve  for  associates  versus  analysts,  as  bankers  sometimes  care  more
about the work getting done, and not about the guy or gal working away all
night to complete it.
Usually hailing directly from top business schools (sometimes law schools
or other grad schools), associates often possess only a summer’s worth of
experience  in  corporate  finance,  so  they  must  start  almost  from  the
beginning. Associates who worked as analysts before grad school have a
little  more  experience  under  their  belts.  The  overall  level  of  business
awareness and knowledge a bright MBA has, however, makes a tremendous
difference,  and  associates  quickly  earn  the  luxury  of  more  complicated
work, client contact, and bigger bonuses.

Vice presidents:
Upon attaining the position of vice president (at most firms, after four or
five years as associates), those in corporate finance enter the realm of real
bankers. The lifestyle becomes more manageable once the associate moves
up to VP.  On the plus side, weekends sometimes free up, all-nighters drop
off,  and  the  general  level  of  responsibility  increases—VPs  are  the  ones
telling associates and analysts to stay late on Friday nights. In the office,
VPs  manage  the  financial  modeling/pitchbook  production  process  in  the
office. On the negative side, the wear and tear of traveling that accompanies
VP-level  banker  responsibilities  can  be  difficult. As  a  VP,  one  begins  to
handle client relationships, and thus spends much more time on the road
than analysts or associates. As a VP, you can look forward to being on the
road  at  least  two  to  four  days  per  week,  usually  visiting  current  and
potential clients. Don’t forget about closing dinners (to celebrate completed
deals), industry conferences (to drum up potential business and build a solid
network within their industry), and, of course, roadshows. VPs are perfect
candidates to baby-sit company management on roadshows.

Directors/managing directors (MDs)
Directors and managing directors (MDs) are the major players in corporate
finance. Typically, MDs set their own hours, deal with clients at the highest
level, and disappear whenever a drafting session takes place, leaving this
grueling work to others. (We will examine these drafting sessions in depth
later.)  MDs  mostly  develop  and  cultivate  relationships  with  various
companies in order to generate corporate finance business for the firm.  At
this  point  in  a  banker’s  career,  the  job  completes  the  transition  from
managing a process to managing a relationship. MDs typically focus on one
industry, develop relationships among management teams of companies in
the  industry,  and  visit  these  companies  pitching  ideas  on  a  regular  basis.
These visits are aptly called sales calls.

From Investment Banking (Lehman Brothers 2008)

I was pretty impressive with the weekly work hour of the analysts, because it will be an unavoidable path to the top of the pyramid. When I imagine the pressure that I will take in the near future if I decide to step into this industry, I actually feel a release on my shoulders of the pressure that I currently have. I keep reminding me of the fact that this is just the beginning and I need to find a way to live with pressure.