Financial services have long been considered an industry where a professional can thrive and work up the corporate ladder to ever-increasing compensation structures. Career choices that offer experiences that are both personally and financially rewarding include:. Three areas within finance, however, offer the best opportunities to maximize sheer earning power and, thus, attract the most competition for jobs:. Earning Potential Directors, principalspartners and managing directors at the bulge-bracket investment banks can make over a million dollars — sometimes up to tens of millions of dollars — per year. Why do senior investment bankers make so much money? Directors, principals and partners lead teams that work with high-priced items and make big commissionssince the bank’s fees are usually calculated as a percentage of the transaction involved. Investment banks are brokers. Not bad for a team of a few individuals — say two analyststwo associates, a vice president, a director and...