thats true, he wouldnt be doing the work without the bonuses. listen, i appreciate what your saying and i acknowledge how difficult it can be at the junior levels. but i still believe its the dedication to the work that differentiates people once uve got your foot in the door. and i agree that even he says most of the time its a load of crap, you go through periods of 'on work' where there are deals to be made and there are periods of 'off work' where everything is quiet. during those periods maybe u digress from what you would normally be doing, but otherwise its pretty standard.
ive done quite alot of work experience and although i know its nothing to what working there full time is like, i can get a basic idea, i see the graduates in their little work stations slaving away while the senior guys go out for lunch, i know how tough the first 5 yrs is. but after that, things start looking up.
anyway i think the original argument was about moving from back office to front office and we have gone a little off coarse ha. i still believe that the route from back office to front office is viable, i mean its not ideal, personally i think doing com/law and getting good marks is better then a back office cadetship. however the IB cadetship is extremely valuable and is definately worth going for and will give you the upper hand. in the end it comes down to the individual and what the firm is looking for. criteria changes all the time, just gotta get lucky with your timing i guess
(btw man im not out trying to attack your points, i think that most of them are very valid and i appreciate your input, i realise you have far more knowledge and experience than i have, its just difficult to accept everything when you get so many conflicting views from different people, all of whom have first hand experience. in the end i think it wouldnt hurt to give it a try, you are only locking in for 1 year and it couldnt hurt to take the opportunity could it?)