Everyone knows that investment banking is a lucrative field. Entry-level jobs quickly provide six-figure salaries. Senior professionals earn tens of millions of dollars every year. Getting to the top of this field is a multi-step process that requires a combination of education, ambition, hard work, skill, experience, connections, and sometimes more than a little bit of luck. Here are suggestions for reaching the top

A college degree in finance or economics is typically the starting point for entry-level jobs at an investment bank. Accounting and business are also common educational backgrounds. While it is true that liberal arts majors can get jobs on Wall Street, if you have your heart set on investment banking, you’ll be tilting the odds in your favor if you stick to the traditional fields of study that are most closely aligned with your career goals.

Investment banks recruit from the best colleges and universities in the world. In the U.S., fledgling investment bankers are often plucked from Ivy League schools. In Great Britain, the London School of Economics is consistently the top choice, with University College London, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, and the University of Warwick among the perennial leaders. Remember, investment banking is a global enterprise with New York, London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo serving as home to the major money center banks that employ many of the world’s most successful investment bankers.