| Issue date: July 11, 1999
I'm 17 and
want to be an investment banker. How can I achieve this goal?
Alvin Perez, New York City
Dear Alvin: You sure know how to pick a hot field. Here's
the lowdown: Many Wall Street firms have analyst programs as a form
of introduction to investment banking, according to Tara Burke,
a spokeswoman at Merrill Lynch, which each year hires some of the
best and the brightest college graduates. The two- to three-year
programs are quite competitive (as are the salaries, which sources
say can hit $65,000 a year).
What do recruiters look for? Mostly accounting, finance and economics majors (though a liberal arts major or two has been known to slide in) with a slew of A's and B's on their report cards. A Wall Street internship during your junior year of college isn't a must, but it's a plus.
After getting out of the program, some analysts are promoted up through the investment banking ranks, others go back to school for MBAs and still others go on to do other things. Good luck!
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Timing is
everything: Baseball card prices take some wild swings
At press time, as the baseball world readied for Tuesday's All-Star
Game, Mark McGwire trailed Ken Griffey Jr. and others in this year's
homer chase. What does that do to the value of McGwire's baseball
cards? Forget about the perfect SGC-graded specimen cards that have
been selling at auction for $2,000-plus. The card uniformly accepted
as his rookie card is a 1985 Topps Olympic Card. As he was whacking
No. 71 last season, it was selling for $250 to $300. Today it's
worth $150, says sports-collectible expert Alan Rosen - and that's
only if it's in mint condition (no torn corners). Sammy Sosa's rookie
card (a 1990 Leaf) has suffered similarly; it now sells for around
$50.
Which is the better buy? Neither, says Rosen, who prefers vintage
cards of deceased players who no longer can blow a game or get arrested.
His pick among the living: Griffey. Says Rosen, "His are the only
new cards I've put away."
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