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Job outlook for investment banking interns in the United States
Investment banking internship job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected investment banking internship job growth rate is 9% from 2018-2028.
About 31,900 new jobs for investment banking interns are projected over the next decade.
Investment banking internship salaries have increased 9% for investment banking interns in the last 5 years.
There are over 32,499 investment banking interns currently employed in the United States.
There are 62,819 active investment banking internship job openings in the US.
The average investment banking internship salary is $43,637.
Are investment banking internship jobs in demand?
Investment banking internship job and salary trends over time
Investment banking internship jobs over time
Investment banking internship job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32,499 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 33,575 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 27,343 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 34,094 | 0.01% |
| 2017 | 32,747 | 0.01% |
Average investment banking internship salary over time
Investment banking internship salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $43,637 | $20.98 | +2.6% |
| 2025 | $42,520 | $20.44 | +1.7% |
| 2024 | $41,822 | $20.11 | +1.6% |
| 2023 | $41,158 | $19.79 | +3.1% |
| 2022 | $39,918 | $19.19 | +1.8% |
Investment banking internship jobs by state
Most common states for investment banking interns
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont | 623,657 | 183 | 29% |
| 2 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 160 | 28% |
| 3 | Delaware | 961,939 | 237 | 25% |
| 4 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 162 | 19% |
| 5 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 237 | 18% |
| 6 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 133 | 18% |
| 7 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 182 | 17% |
| 8 | Alaska | 739,795 | 123 | 17% |
| 9 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 279 | 16% |
| 10 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 167 | 16% |
| 11 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 108 | 16% |
| 12 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 196 | 15% |
| 13 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 239 | 12% |
| 14 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 351 | 10% |
| 15 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 301 | 10% |
| 16 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 638 | 9% |
| 17 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 289 | 9% |
| 18 | Hawaii | 1,427,538 | 124 | 9% |
| 19 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 160 | 8% |
| 20 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 152 | 8% |
Most common cities for investment banking interns
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa City | 2 | 3% | $43,462 |
| 2 | Waltham | 2 | 3% | $66,298 |
| 3 | Annapolis | 1 | 3% | $58,016 |
| 4 | Springfield | 2 | 2% | $45,054 |
| 5 | Stamford | 2 | 2% | $69,878 |
| 6 | Altamonte Springs | 1 | 2% | $58,736 |
| 7 | Atlanta | 5 | 1% | $45,573 |
| 8 | Boston | 5 | 1% | $66,646 |
| 9 | Boca Raton | 1 | 1% | $64,463 |
| 10 | Carmel | 1 | 1% | $41,265 |
| 11 | Costa Mesa | 1 | 1% | $84,243 |
| 12 | Phoenix | 3 | 0% | $69,873 |
| 13 | Detroit | 2 | 0% | $58,161 |
| 14 | Los Angeles | 2 | 0% | $85,367 |
| 15 | Arlington | 1 | 0% | $61,338 |
| 16 | Baton Rouge | 1 | 0% | $55,404 |
| 17 | Birmingham | 1 | 0% | $48,535 |
| 18 | Charlotte | 1 | 0% | $51,149 |
Investment Banking Internship job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of investment banking internship experts
Southwestern College
Westminster College
University of Iowa, College of Law
Stanton University
College of Saint Mary
Jacksonville State University
Oakland University
Montclair State University
Northern Arizona University
University of Minnesota Duluth
Texas Tech University
University of South Alabama
University of Rhode Island
Virginia Wesleyan University
Southern Oregon University
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Kevin Alston MBA
Doctoral Candidate DBASouthwestern College
Finance And Financial Management Services
What will help Investment Banking Interns increase their earning potential?
Kevin Alston MBA: Crypto Currency and AI. These two are the most impactful variables associated with the Financial Industry.
What Investment Banking Internship skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Kevin Alston MBA: Acquire any many Industry Certifications as possible. Attend seminars and workshops to stay current within our industry.
What's a day at work look like for an Investment Banking Internship?
Michael Mamo Ph.D.: The pandemic has brought about fundamental changes at the workplace, including remote work and the rising importance of technological proficiency. These in turn demand flexibility and much of the workplace will demand more versatility and flexibility.
What will help Investment Banking Interns increase their earning potential?
Michael Mamo Ph.D.: Not sure how this relates to the previous themes but I do not believe the quest to increase one's earning potential is a noble goal. As humans we value (or should value) the benefits of enlightenment that come from education and life-long learning. Of course, enlightenment could translate to monetary gains. Enlightenment also comes with a greater sense of fulfilment in life and provides the person with traits of empathy, integrity, and other virtues such as justice and perseverance. Beyond improving ones earningn potential, education is a life-affirming process and that is what I would advise people in my field to aspire for.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Investment Banking Interns?
Melissa Norman: For the most part, the legal market is bouncing back quickly from the pandemic. Certain practice areas have been especially resilient, such as business and corporate law, bankruptcy, cyber-security, technology, and health law.
What's a good job out of college for Investment Banking Interns?
Melissa Norman: Any job that the student gains experience and transferrable skills to help them continue pursuing their goals. The great thing about a law degree is that it is very versatile. Students can practice law in a law firm, work in compliance for a bank or in athletics, do policy work, be involved in government, and many other things! As long as a student is growing and learning, they are in a "good job."
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Investment Banking Interns?
Dr. Louna Al Hallak: Most students who got job offers before the Covid-19 pandemic have been forced to wait longer, while some have been withdrawn.
luminate.prospects.ac.uk on how the Coronavirus pandemic affected students revealed that 26.1 percent lost their work or internship opportunities, 29.2 percent lost their jobs. In comparison, 28.2 percent lost their job offers.
The results of that survey are enough reason why students should be upset about the Covid-19 situation. According to some students, who took part in the survey, the cancelled job offers would be their ROI. Additionally, 64.9 percent of final-year students feel negative and demotivated by Coronavirus pandemic's effects.
It will also help if the colleges' and university's career departments liaise with employers to develop better outreach strategies to communicate with students and remove any fears that employers are not hiring anymore.
Creating more job adverts and making them visible could help reduce the tension among graduates and students waiting to join the job industry. Ninety-two percent of students who took part in the survey state that it would be better if employers could make these job adverts public.
The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic isn't going to last longer if companies and recruiters develop better recruiting strategies that would cover fresh graduates. It's just a matter of time, and things will resume normalcy. Of course, some businesses will take longer to be back on track, but it's all about patience.
Jing Chang Ph.D.
ProfessorCollege of Saint Mary
Department of Mathematics
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Investment Banking Internship job market given the pandemic?
Jing Chang Ph.D.: I think working remotely or working from home is the biggest trend in the job market in the next few years. Experts say that the whole world will probably face a post-pandemic transition in the following years. Wearing a mask, keeping social distance, and avoiding big gathering are probably going to be part of the new normal. As a result, employers would encourage their employees to work from home to decrease the risk of COVID-19 spread. For example, higher education will promote remote learning, especially general education courses which may have large class sizes. Upper-level major courses with smaller class sizes will be less affected. K-12 schools will probably have a hybrid mode. Minor health issues will be more likely to be done via Telehealth.
What technical skills for an Investment Banking Internship stand out to employers?
Dr. Breann Murphy Ph.D.: For communication, the biggest technical skills that stand out to employers are good writing skills, strong people skills, and experience in digital media. Communication professionals must be good writers, since the field is in the practice of message construction and delivery. Also, communication professionals must be good writers across all platforms. Since the world has now embraced more digital media as a result of the pandemic, communication professionals must know how to write for a variety of platforms, such as websites, blogs, and social media, and they must know how to adapt their writing to different audiences.
Also, certifications in digital media analytics is becoming more important to employers. Since employers are embracing a digital presence, they need people who know how to monitor and interpret the data and having a digital media analytic certification helps a potential hire stand out from the crowd of applicants. Additionally, employers are now wanting to see more examples of work and writing samples that potential hires have done in the past.
Mark Navin Ph.D.
Professor and ChairOakland University
Philosophy Department
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Investment Banking Internship job market given the pandemic?
Mark Navin Ph.D.: It's possible that 2021 graduates could face a very good job market, or at least one that is rapidly improving: Real GDP growth has recently been strong, and economists think there's a good chance for substantial growth in 2021 (perhaps over 7%). But we're likely to need continued stimulus (such as President Biden's covid relief package) and we also need to find a way to avoid mass evictions and foreclosures when people's rent and mortgage bills finally come due. If we can solve those problems, then I suspect that there will be substantial demand for new college graduates.
What will help Investment Banking Interns increase their earning potential?
Charles Feldman Ph.D.: Students in the food industry become highly valued when they could explain to employers how to step out of the traditional box and effect change. Leaner production, less baggage and more flexibility will help food producers adjust. A graduate student must be alert to present and future changes in the environment. Trends in the food industry move very quickly. Proactivity, environment scanning and keeping abreast of the most current research and trends are essential - and this increases employment market value!
What will help Investment Banking Interns increase their earning potential?
Jana Carpenter: The same skills that also impacted success in sales: critical thinking, problem solving, diligence, persistence and creativity coupled with excellent listening and verbal and written communication skills.
Ekaterina Elgayeva Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Organizational BehaviorUniversity of Minnesota Duluth
Labovitz School of Business and Economics
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Investment Banking Internship job market given the pandemic?
Ekaterina Elgayeva Ph.D.: The expansion of remote work is bringing about a number of key trends within the job market that will continue to gain momentum in the years ahead. To start, companies will likely adopt social recognition programs as incentives to performance metrics, wherein employee performance will be increasingly assessed through measures of employee interactions, rather than the standalone, traditional annual reporting metrics that have been in place to date.
Second, company cultures are being rapidly transformed through increasing implementation of wellness programs, which underscore the significance of employee well-being and the significance of mental health in relation to engagement and performance.
Alongside these trends, organizations will place significantly more emphasis on relational coordination, which fundamentally roots to the innate necessity to maintain social connections in times of isolation and dispersion, and so companies are beginning to prioritize the development of communities that generate social capital - the resources vital to employee learning, performance, and well-being - to cultivate a sense of belongingness within the context of remote, distributed work.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Investment Banking Interns?
Dr. Eric Rasmussen Ph.D.: I think this is the question we're all asking ourselves right now. The impact of the pandemic on the job market is out of anyone's control. What we can control is our ability to help students acquire a skillset that is versatile enough to give them flexibility in an ever-changing job market. A degree in public relations is well-situated to help give graduates the best opportunity for finding meaningful employment.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Investment Banking Internship job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Kelly Collins Woodford: Remote work - Many companies that once refused to consider remote work, even as a reasonable accommodation for ADA purposes, have learned that workers can work from home and remain productive. The cost savings associated with reducing the office footprint, particularly in large downtown areas, as well as the reduction in the lost time associated with commuting is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. As recent graduates begin entering the workforce, it will be interesting to see if those new hires are able to easily integrate into the workforce and gain mentoring from colleagues they have only met on screen. The kinds of advice and support recent graduates were able to obtain by merely walking down the hall or into the breakroom, will now be something that new graduates will have to actively seek.
Flexible hours - Along with remote work, many companies have been forced to allow workers to utilize more flexible work schedules. The old 8-5 paradigm has shifted to accommodate the needs of workers working from home, particularly workers who have children in remote school settings. Interestingly, studies have shown that the convenience-based work schedules lead to employees who, overall, are more productive and happier.
Service-sector workers - The service sector has been hit the hardest by the pandemic. The decrease in service-sector jobs is likely to continue for the foreseeable future particularly in hospitality and tourism, entertainment, sports, and air travel. How fast the service sector rebounds is really tied to the success of COVID-19 containment efforts, including the impact of vaccinations.
What soft skills should all Investment Banking Interns possess?
Dr. Kelly Collins Woodford: The soft skills graduates need really has not changed because of the pandemic, but the importance of those soft skills has changed.
For example, as we saw last spring, the ability to be flexible and adaptable to change is critical. To be adaptable, graduates will need strong critical thinking/problem solving skills.
Importantly, graduates must be able to work independently. We often see students who want to be told exactly what to do and how to do it. Graduates in the current market need to be able to use their critical thinking skills to figure out how to accomplish goals and have the ability to work independently to reach the goals.
Also important are interpersonal skills needed to be a successful member of a team, whether the team is remote or in person.
With flexible hours and remote work, time management has also increased in importance.
What skills stand out on Investment Banking Internship resumes?
Sean Edmund Rogers Ph.D.: The same ones that have always stood out - a solid record of performance and achievement, strong job knowledge and skills, relevant experience, reliability and dependability, a commitment to professional development such as via industry certifications, and so on. If there was one thing to add given the ever-increasing competition for jobs, it is that job seekers who have verifiable and demonstrable abilities that suggest they can hit the ground running and quickly create value for an organization may have a leg up. This is more than someone just being a self-starter. I'm talking about having a specific expertise like data analytics and visualization skills using Tableau. Just as firms seek to create and sustain competitive advantage, job seekers should be looking for ways they can hone their skills and expand their value-add for employers.
What experience really stands out on Investment Banking Internship resumes?
Jessica Harrington: Relevant work experience is always best. New graduates should keep in mind that an internship is a form of relevant work experience and should be placed toward the top of their resume. I also encourage new graduates to place their education at or near the beginning of their resumes. A college degree has helped prepare a new graduate for their field and should be highlighted.
Jacqueline Strenio Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorSouthern Oregon University
Economics Affiliated Faculty, Healthcare Administration Affiliated Faculty, Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Investment Banking Interns?
Jacqueline Strenio Ph.D.: It's hard to predict the full effect of the novel coronavirus pandemic on graduates as it is, indeed, novel. It has drastically changed not only the overall macroeconomy but also the landscape of work itself by necessitating the rapid transition to remote work and accelerating disruptions in major industries. However, in terms of the recessionary effects of the coronavirus pandemic on graduates, we can look to past recessions to make predictions about potential enduring impacts.
Previous research on the effects of graduating into a recession finds that it is associated with initially lower earnings and more job switching, effects that can linger for years. It has even been linked to poorer health in middle age. A lot of these impacts are the result of the fact that fewer jobs are available overall, reducing the quality of the initial employment offer or the match between employee and employer.
These effects may be amplified for women and BIPOC graduates who already face labor market discrimination. On the demand side, this means it is imperative for employers to evaluate their hiring criteria, making sure they are not disproportionately disadvantaging these populations. On the supply-side, I would encourage graduates to be open to a variety of different jobs that may be different than those they initially imagined. Continuing to look for new and better matches as the economy improves will also help combat these initial earnings losses.
However, there is good news for college graduates: recent research has found that these impacts are less severe for those with college degrees when compared to those with high school degrees. So, for those students that are close to graduating, I would strongly encourage them to complete their degrees despite the challenges of remote learning.
What type of skills will young Investment Banking Interns need?
Jacqueline Strenio Ph.D.: If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's the importance of data literacy and the social sciences. Employers will be looking for evidence of these skills on resumes and expect them of new hires.
Data literacy refers to the ability to interpret data and understand its limitations, but also the ability to clearly communicate with data. This doesn't just mean having the technical skills to manage and analyze data, but also the ability to convey insights from such analyses. Employers will be looking for workers that can describe the results and implications of those analyses, which necessitates strong written and oral communication skills.
The pandemic has also highlighted the importance of the social sciences. Although a vaccine didn't emerge from the social sciences, insights from such disciplines are critical in constructing vaccine rollouts and other socially-acceptable policies that account for human behavior. The social sciences, including economics, will also be necessary in helping to rebuild our communities in more sustainable and inclusive ways in the post-pandemic world. Young graduates entering the workforce that understand human nature and can critically evaluate policies and procedures from a social scientific perspective will be invaluable to employers for their ability to think technically, but also creatively, and account for social norms and human behavior. More generally, creative and innovative thinking and the ability to be flexible are imperative. These things are a core part of any liberal arts curriculum. Graduates should emphasize these liberal arts skills in addition to technical career training.
What experience really stands out on Investment Banking Internship resumes?
Stephen Miller Ph.D.: All the standard stuff is still important, along with skills related to communicating remotely and online. Work experience where the graduate exercised decision-making authority. That is, the graduate can think outside the box.