I show that, just as investment bankers are key drivers of financial markets, shocks in financial markets have important and lasting effects on the careers of investment bankers. Specifically, using data from a 1996 and 1998 survey of several thousand Stanford MBAs, I find that stock market conditions while MBA students are in school have a large effect on whether they go directly into investment banking upon graduation. This effect of themarkets on initialMBA placement turns out to be a lasting determinant of career choice and earnings
