[Help] Finishing college late - 26yo - digging into finance

Hi to all,

I'm glad to find this Community.

I'm 26 and I'm finishing my Economics undergrad only now in Portugal. When I finished high school I was accepted at a college in the united states but I needed to "abort" that dream because I needed a bank loan at that time and loan's interest just sky rocketed that year and with lack of motivation I needed to stay at my country and study here because I didn't want to make my parents bankrupt.

Now, I'm finishing college in a top economics university in Portugal but I'm afraid that my age may step back some banks to recruit me. I'm trying to have a high GPA and I'm 100% decided to pursuit a Master's Degree in Finance but I don't know if I should do it right now or get some job experience first. I did 3 summer internships this last years - one at the country's top energy company (billing department); one at "Ordem dos Economistas" I don't know the term in english but it is an organization that represent portuguese economist by a "bastonary"; and last summer I did 3 months in banking operations at Banco CTT (an emerging big portuguese bank).

I really want to digg into investment banking in Portugal or in Europe, since i believe it's very dificult to go directly to the US. But there's just a few investment banks in Portugal so I believe I need to strike London or some europe's financial center.

Do you have any advice? I really want Finance. Should I start working now? Is my age a problem? Should I study here or move to a better school in London for my master's? I'm starving to dig successfuly into the financial world.

Thanks if you read this message. My english is worse than some years ago but I'm starting to get better again day by day.

If I didn't explain something well enough please ask me.

all the best to you! and good luck with your goals

 

In regards to your age, no, it is not a problem. I would recommend searching through many of the previous threads on this topic.

I would recommend looking into a British Masters degree, preferably from a top-ranked institution such as the LSE or Imperial College, London. Seeing as the MSc in Finance is so competitive, you may be interested in looking at courses such as Accounting & Finance or even Management.

 

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