Tonight was Braeburn’s career night for their students. They hold it once a year, with a gym-full of professionals from various backgrounds sitting behind desks, waiting to answer any questions the students might have as they amble from section to section. Although I now work in the NGO space, I was asked to represent my old job – Institutional Equity Sales, in the Finance section. We were placed directly beside the Lawyer section (always convenient) staring directly at the Insurance section, which despite having been the most kitted out section, was an undeniably quiet corner. I was seated beside a very senior member of the World Bank with a background in investment banking. Needless to say the lineup for him him was slightly longer than that for me. In fact, most of my visitors were actually just waiting to have a chance to talk to him, but I did get some unabashedly ambitious questions. The most common – How much will my starting salary be? This was followed closely with – How much will my bonus be? The best advice I could offer? Even if you’re only 17, start networking now, and if you’re not a networker, learn your maths. I couldn’t think of two more important skills to have in that industry. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they tend to be mutually exclusive.