Breaking into investment banking age 31?

I have a 31 year old family member who has been in engineering for the last 10 years and now is looking for a career change.
She wants to break into Investment Banking.

Is it possible for her to study for a masters degree and start as an analyst at this age?

Or does she have to do an MBA and come in as an associate?

The MBA is too expensive for her hence why she is considering a one year msc course in the UK.
She is likely to get accepted at a top target such as Cambridge or LSE.

 

How would you recommend pursuing the associate route without any analyst experience? I'm 31 and I am an accounting/finance major about to graduate and I would like to see if there is a viable career path into Investment banking in my early 30's without any experience.

 

It is doable, but challenging. Especially when you may be older than some of the VPs managing you. I know we shouldn't talk about 'agism', but everyone knows the drill. Age does influence decisions. In majority of banking environments, analysts (post college to early/mid 20s), Associates (mid 20s/early 30s, post MBA), VP (late 20s to mid 30s even early 40s), MD (40+).

You'd be coming in a bit late, but it's not hopeless.

 

Make some friends in your industry, and go work for a firm that services the types of companies that you know a lot about already. Going to B-school is great for meeting those types of people, but also start going to whatever big-name local university is near you (stanford / berekley) and attend lectures, events, and conferences related to your interests.

If you want to do something like this, you have to go and get it, it won't come to you... on the flip side, you should go for it! You just have to be proactive all the way, from start to finish.

 

Thanks a lot Soccerguy728,

Is it possible to break into I-Banking doing a part-time MBA from Berkeley vs full-time MBAs? Is my age a barrier?

My close friend is an I-Banker. So I can ask him for help. But, what credentials do I need before I approach him. Starting a part-time MBA, giving a CFA exam etc? Thanks

 

I dont know, I wouldn't even worry about the age barrier. You must know a lot about your industry already because of your experience working in a company. I'd say get into the best part-time MBA program you can that also is very big within your current industry. When you start the MBA, learn as much finance as you can. I would even go for an MSF instead.... the MBA isn't always the best answer anymore.

That being said, attend the best school you can get yourself into.

 

I'm sorry but you haven't been given direct and clear answers.

  1. Most ibanks require a green card at minimum. It's hard to get in if you're looking for a sponsor.
  2. Part time MBA is doubtful to get you hired as an associate. So you'd be looking at analyst positions which I don't think you'd want.

Soccerguy I have no idea why you're suggesting a MFA for her. It will do absolutely nothing for investment banking recruiting.

You can PM me if you have further questions. I did 2 years BB IBD and recruited for 1 of those years. The few MBAs we would hire in this market would be from SAs which are recruited ONLY from full time MBA OCRs (on campus recruiting) which I don't think you'd have access to as a PT.

 

Hi SanityCheck,

I will have a green card in about 2 years. I am already 30 today. I know that age is a huge barrier to get into finance jobs.

What options do I have as of now? Would it help to get my part-time MBA and maybe CFA out of the way within the next 2 years so by the time I have my green card, I am well-positioned to break into finance?

Thanks a lot

 

If you were serious about getting into IBD forget about any part-time MBAs. Those are solely for the purpose of advancing at your current job while working.

Quit in 2 years after you get your green card and then apply for a full time MBA at a top 10-15 MBA school. Obviously go to the highest ranked MBA program you get into but no need to go as high as MBA business schools">M7 since even bulge brackets hire their associates from non-M7 like Tuck, Cornell, Michigan, Stern, UVA, etc.

 

Your age is not the key issue here. The majority of new associates are ~29 +/- two years and this can really go up to 35.

I have seen a couple part-time students break in from Kellogg and Booth; however, these people really beat the odds w/out full-time recruiting, internships, etc.. No reason to reduce your chances by attending a part-time program (i.e. you need to do an internship to get a full-time offer in this environment).

 

No problem, a few more comments:

Please do not say "giving" your GMAT. Say taking.

We see a lot of engineers and you will want to differentiate yourself from this pack somehow. You may think about getting involved with something finance-related now while you are waiting. This doesn't necessarily mean finding a new job, you just want to start building up a credible story for why IBD.

Consider going to school on the east coast. All of the major banks have a presence in SF, but it usually consists of only 1-2 groups (such as HC). This means fewer opportunities. It would be a mistake to not focus on NYC if you are truly set on breaking into IBD.

 

I have NEVER heard of a part-time mba student getting into banking, not even those from booth part-time. MBA banking recruiting follows a very structured recruiting process where most full-time offers go to summer interns. And internship ocr is not available for part-time students.

 
Macroecon:
I have NEVER heard of a part-time mba student getting into banking, not even those from booth part-time. MBA banking recruiting follows a very structured recruiting process where most full-time offers go to summer interns. And internship ocr is not available for part-time students.

What about MBB calibre consulting? Would you say the op would have a shot if they were to try that? Maybe as industry specialists?

 

@angelinajolie the big consulting firms and banks have a really rigid MBA recruiting process and it only involves full-time students. having gone through a PT MBA program at a top 15 school, i can tell you that it is almost impossible to weasel your way into this funnel as a PT. our school monitored the networking events and interview schedule like hawks.

basically, the big firms outsource part of their HR to the admissions departments at target schools. the first stage of the funnel is getting into the right FT MBA program. it's a shame because these firms are missing out on some great people who can't afford to stop working for 2 years for whatever reason, but overall it's more efficient for the firms in question. they end up with a very finite pool of candidates who appear to be effectively pre-screened.

 
ping:
@angelinajolie the big consulting firms and banks have a really rigid MBA recruiting process and it only involves full-time students. having gone through a PT MBA program at a top 15 school, i can tell you that it is almost impossible to weasel your way into this funnel as a PT. our school monitored the networking events and interview schedule like hawks.

basically, the big firms outsource part of their HR to the admissions departments at target schools. the first stage of the funnel is getting into the right FT MBA program. it's a shame because these firms are missing out on some great people who can't afford to stop working for 2 years for whatever reason, but overall it's more efficient for the firms in question. they end up with a very finite pool of candidates who appear to be effectively pre-screened.

thanks for your insight! So its bassically easier for them to go through FT cause of the HR/admissions arrangement. That makes sense. Booth/Kellogg/Haas allow OCR for PT students, I wonder if that affects the calibre of students they let in to the program.

Were you satisfied with your choice of PT? did it allow you to make the move you wanted

 

Need to jump back in here.

Yes, it is possible to break in from a part-time program. I have seen investment banking associates that attended part-time programs at Stern, Booth and Kellogg.

At school we used to get annoyed at the part-time students who would go after full-time recruiting as it seemed like a loophole, but I understand that people have their reasons now that I am on the other side. In general, part-time students are less qualified, but those at the top of the range seem to be equally credentialed.

So yes, it is possible, but these are outlier situations. The original poster should not attempt to take this route, but I wanted to clear that up for those who may have thought these people do not exist on wall street.

 
MD8:
Need to jump back in here.

Yes, it is possible to break in from a part-time program. I have seen investment banking associates that attended part-time programs at Stern, Booth and Kellogg.

At school we used to get annoyed at the part-time students who would go after full-time recruiting as it seemed like a loophole, but I understand that people have their reasons now that I am on the other side. In general, part-time students are less qualified, but those at the top of the range seem to be equally credentialed.

So yes, it is possible, but these are outlier situations. The original poster should not attempt to take this route, but I wanted to clear that up for those who may have thought these people do not exist on wall street.

@MD8-you seem to know your stuff...what do you think about people who work in an industry and want to make a transition into the same industry but a different capacity? many of the people here are engineers in energy and want to go into IBD energy/MBB energy groups....what do you think? huge transition?

 
Best Response
angelinajolie:

@MD8-you seem to know your stuff...what do you think about people who work in an industry and want to make a transition into the same industry but a different capacity? many of the people here are engineers in energy and want to go into IBD energy/MBB energy groups....what do you think? huge transition?

Industry/sector experience can be helpful, but to be honest it's really not the most important thing. People always start talking about their experience in healthcare, technology, energy, etc. as a reason for wanting to join a certain coverage group, but we really just want to bring in the best people regardless of their background.

It helps to have an interest in your coverage area in order to read through filings and research, but analysts/associates are not expected to have industry expertise coming in as this is something that develops over time.

Primary role is to function as an investment banker, not to be an industry expert. Hence, using this experience as the basis for lateraling into a group would likely not be enough. We would rather hire someone with a banking/finance background than an energy background.

 

Your main problem is immigration. If your future GC is EBGC, you need more than 2 years (probably around 3), since if you jump ship right away, you run the risk of your GC being revoked when you will try to apply for citizenship 5 years later (since GC is done for your current position/occupation, you need to work in that capacity for a while after GC is granted). If it's FBGC, you are fine.

After you are done with immigration, full time MBA from one of the top schools should help. Part time - maybe, but lower odds.

Then your age will be a problem, since you will be 35 when you are done with GC and MBA - borderline passable for Associate positions.

Do you have a graduate degree? You can try your luck with an experienced hire route at MBB without an MBA (even though an MBA would help a lot).

 

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