Investment banking vs sales and trading: which fits you?
Investment banking advises companies on deals and raising money, with models and pitch books on a deal's timeline. Sales and trading makes markets for institutional investors, with prices, risk, and clients on the market's timeline. They sit in the same bank but recruit on different calendars, test different skills, and lead to different seats, so pick by which kind of day you want.
Updated November 6, 2026. Live data checked against each firm's own careers site 1m ago.
How do IB and S&T compare right now?
The side by side below shows each path's typical opening window, the firms we watch, and how many programs are open on the firms' own sites right now. The windows are the first thing to notice: banking opens in the winter of sophomore year, and markets mostly opens in the fall of junior year.
| Investment Banking | Sales and Trading | |
|---|---|---|
| Applications open | Dec to Mar, sophomore year | Aug to Nov, junior year |
| Programs we watch | 219 | 83 |
| Open right now | 51 | 17 |
| Who hires |   | |
What is the actual day like in each?
A banking analyst works on a deal: models, comparable companies, pitch books, and comments from a VP that arrive late. The calendar belongs to the deal, so the hours spike when something is live and weekends are often lost.
A sales and trading analyst works on the desk. You are in before the open, you price client requests, watch flows and news, and help manage the desk's risk. The market closes, so the day mostly does too, and weekends are usually yours.
- Main output: models and decks in IB; prices, trades, and client calls in S&T.
- Feedback: weeks or months until a deal closes in IB; the same day in S&T.
- Hours: longer and less predictable in IB; early starts and earlier finishes in S&T.
- Who you serve: companies and sponsors in IB; asset managers, hedge funds, and corporates in S&T.
- Skill you build: valuation and deal mechanics in IB; markets judgment and risk in S&T.
How is recruiting different?
Banking recruiting runs early. Junior summer applications open from about December through March of sophomore year, and coffee chats before you apply are expected at most banks.
Markets recruiting at many banks runs later, from about August through November of junior year. Networking matters less for getting in and more for desk placement, because desks pick summer analysts they have met. Some banks use one summer application where you rank divisions, and that one opens on the banking calendar, so check each bank in the live table.
How are the interviews different?
Banking interviews are accounting, valuation, and deal mechanics, plus why banking and why this bank. Most of the technical questions come from a known set, so steady drilling pays off.
Markets interviews are about how you think in real time. Expect a stock or trade pitch, what moved markets this week, mental math, probability, and a reasoned answer on which desk and why. You cannot memorize a market view, you build one by reading every morning.
Where does each lead after two years?
Banking keeps the most doors open: private equity, hedge funds, corporate development, and growth equity all hire from it. Sales and trading has fewer exits but a direct line into markets roles: hedge funds on the macro and credit side, asset management, and prop trading.
If you are unsure what you want, banking keeps more options. If you already know you like markets, a trading desk gets you there faster and with better hours.
Can you recruit for both?
Yes, and the calendar helps. Banking fills in sophomore winter and spring, markets in the fall of junior year, so a student who misses banking can still prepare for markets. The catch is that the prep barely overlaps.
- Decide which one is first, based on the day you would rather have.
- Prep that one fully: technicals for banking, a market view and mental math for markets.
- Keep the other to the basics: read markets news daily, or know the three statements.
- Track both sets of programs so you hear when each opens.
- If the first window does not land, switch your prep fully to the second one.
Questions students ask
- Which is harder to get into, IB or S&T?
- Neither is easy, and they screen for different things. Banking screens on technical readiness and networking. Markets screens on quick thinking, mental math, and a credible view. Pick the one whose interview you would rather practice for months.
- Can you switch from S&T to IB, or the other way?
- Internal moves happen but are not common, and they depend on the bank. If you are sure which you want, recruit for it directly.
- Do I need to code for sales and trading?
- Not to get in on most desks, though it helps, especially on electronic and structuring desks. Comfort with numbers and spreadsheets matters more.
- Which pays more, IB or S&T?
- Pay varies by bank, desk, and year. Check what each bank publishes and what your career office reports rather than a number from a forum.
- Is S&T dying because of automation?
- Desks have changed as trading moved to electronic execution, and some seats now need more code. Client coverage, risk management, and structuring still need people, and banks still run markets summer classes.