Cities

The default European market and the one every other city is measured against: the most seats, the widest deal flow, and the best exits outside New York. Also the most crowded application process in Europe, run on a calendar that starts a year before the job does.

The regulators' city, and since Brexit the EU base of much of the industry. The deal market is German-speaking Europe, the working language is German, and the way in is an off-cycle internship rather than a summer class.

1. 01 the market
2. 02 the way in
3. 03 permits and pay

France is a market where the local advisory houses out-count the Americans by a wide margin. The route in runs through a grande école and a six-month internship, and French employment law shapes that internship more than any bank does.

1. 01 the market
2. 02 the way in
3. 03 internship law, permits and pay

Italy's deal market has one domestic heavyweight, a strong local boutique scene and a mid-market run largely by the accounting firms' advisory arms. And its best-known target sends most of its finance graduates abroad.

1. 01 the market
2. 02 the way in
3. 03 pay

A small market for deals, with one remaining home-grown global investment bank, and two cities that are for different things: Geneva is a wealth-management and commodity-finance centre first. For anyone from outside the EU, the permit is the hardest part.

1. 01 the market
2. 02 the way in
3. 03 permits

Five markets, and the choice is usually made by constraints before preferences: your passport, your languages and where you are in your degree. Every rule below links back to a city page and its sources.