Where can I learn more about investment-banking ?

Math and accounting, as well as corporate finance are subjects that directly relate to the investment banking career. If you're able to take classes and excel in these subject areas, it will help you get a good idea of the skill set needed to obtain a career in i-banking. As for the lifestyle of an investment banker (I am married to one), when you start out in the industry you will work many, many hours. At a big bank, you will work anywhere from 80-100 hours per week and you will primarily be working in spreadsheets and creating presentations for clients. As you move up in the industry, you will gain more and more responsibility as it relates to deals. You will begin to manage the analysts and associates and focus more on strategy and negotiation.

You can work at a big bulge bracket bank, or a small boutique bank. The difference being the types of deals and clients you will work with. Bigger banks work on bigger transactions, split amongst many people. Smaller banks work on smaller dollar transactions typically, but have smaller teams. My husband works for a small boutique investment bank and enjoys it because he is involved in all aspects of the transaction, from start to finish.

As far as getting to know more about the industry, it's really based on connections. You will need good grades and be able to answer complex interview questions about financial statement analysis and finance, but its also important to reach out to professionals already in the industry. When you get to college, you can work with your career center to put you in contact with alumni or other contacts the school may have to get you an internship or interview. The way my husband found his position was by signing up for the premium membership on LinkedIn and contacting as many i-bankers as he could find that he had something in common with. He was able to land an interview and ultimately the job this way.

It will be hard work, but it's definitely possible if you are passionate and plan ahead, which sounds like you are because you are in 10th grade and thinking about this now. Good luck!

I would recommend visiting mergersandinquisitions.com and reading through the wealth of information that the website has to offer. They offer very high-level information in terms of figuring out what the industry is about and how to best position yourself once you are a college student to actually begin recruiting for jobs during your junior year of undergrad.

Well, what do you want to know about investment banking? Maybe you should ask here...

Aside from asking bankers, your best bet are likely to come from one of two sources: books or blogs. To learn more about i-banking, you could read the Business School textbook "Investment Banking" (published by Wiley Finance) which is a very practical explanation of how the i-banking industry is structured and what it involves. See if you can find a copy in a library someplace -- it's a rather expensive book. There also might be some used copies for sale at the major business schools in Boston. If you can't find that book, I would also suggest you try to find a copy of the Vault Career Guide to Investment Banking. I read it when I was first entering the finance field and it has some pretty clear explanations. Might be able to find a copy at your local major bookstore (e.g., B&N). There are also some pretty entertaining books set in the investment banking industry that might be helpful, including Liar's Poker, and Barbarians at the Gate.

Online there are a number of popular banking and wall street blogs that you might read. DealBreaker. InvestmentBankerOnLife. WallStreetOasis.

Lastly, there's this: A day in the life of an investment banking associate from Business Week.

go online, there is tons of information!
does your school have a school library? ask the librarian there, and go to your local public library, they probably also have databases you can search in, just ask the librarian there for help!