American Airlines Financial Analyst to Investment Banking

Hello,

I am in my second semester senior year with a job offer at American Airlines which I accepted. I start right away after graduation, but I'm looking for some advice and perspective on career progression. Ideally I would like to progress beyond corporate finance into a job with higher earnings potential such as consulting or investment banking.

Is this a realistic goal to attain? Or do people usually stay in corporate finance for the entire duration of their career? Also, would returning for grad school after 2 years and obtaining a CFA charter improve my career prospects?

Just looking for some perspective on this. Thanks in advance.

 
Best Response

Maybe just my perception, but I think CFA is more relevant for equity research.

I also think that you can do anything - I've seen people go from corporate to banking or consulting. Same rule applies to everyone - network, don't be a dumbass, show interest, go above and beyond, and don't give up. I will say that it might be easier to land an IB job within your "specialty" - if you're working in corporate airlines for a few years, that should be a bonus to an IB firm specializing in the same area.

 

Your best route to get into IB would be to go into a top MBA program and come in as an associate. The CFA won't help you with impressing IB recruiters - although it will be intrinsically helpful because some of the knowledge will overlap. As RobberBaron123 indicated - the CFA is geared towards equity research as well as portfolio management.

Source: I'm a CFA charterholder and MBA grad. Almost went into IB but decided it wasn't the right path for me.

 

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