High school student seeking internship in any finance field
I was wondering if it is possible to get an internship in finance in high school? I am currently a sophomore and I have never had a job or internship. My resume is consist of volunteer work, test scores, and basically only things that impress colleges. My parents don't have connections in the finance world. I once read on a thread that I should just call a private consulting firm and ask them can I make coffee for the week. Does anyone have any information on this?
First of all, you have a massive advantage over most people if you're already planning for a career in finance in high school. Knowing what grades you should be aiming for, internships etc is really helpful when you're starting college.
Anyway, I think it'll be a struggle to get an internship in high school. The only places that would consider taking you are smaller ones without a defined hiring program. And honestly, I think it would be a waste of time at the moment - I don't know if anyone would take it seriously if they saw it on your resume.
I think what you should do now is work on yourself: dedicate your time to extra curriculars that will give you a shot at the best colleges. Develop a competitive and/or useful hobby (sport, chess, editing, coding etc) that interests you and that you know you'll want to keep up in the future; whatever it is, if you're skilled at it it'll be impressive on your resume one day.
In the summer before college starts, maybe work a shit retail job. Get some real experience for your resume (and yourself). In the summer of your first year, maybe you can aim to get an internship at a small brokerage, consultancy or whatever through cold calling/networking. That'll set you up great to get a more formal internship in your second summer of college, which will getting one for your third summer easier again. If you do all this, score a good GPA, can hold a conversation, I think you'd be almost guaranteed to get a great full time offer when you graduate.
And yes, I wish I was saying this to myself at 16.
Internships don't really matter until you start college (and even then, I don't think most people take post-freshman year internships that seriously either). If you're interested in a career in finance right now, your top priority should be to get into the best college you possibly can. If that means studying for the SAT and building your extracurriculars, then so be it. You won't be missing out on anything, a real job isn't that fun anyways.
Summer Internship for High School Student (IB) (Originally Posted: 01/21/2015)
I am a high school senior and I was wondering if there are any internships I can be a part of over the summer at banks or brokerage firms. I want to go into investment banking so I'd like to see how things are run on the inside. Is there anything like this for me? I have no problem getting coffee, delivering random documents, and doing other mundane office work.
You can try to cold call firms around your area. Most people who get it are through family or friends or someone extremely talented and was heading to HYPS with good starting knowledge of finance.
What would I be asking them to do? I'm not really sure what kind of work they would give to someone just out of high school. But I'm sure it's not like an internship right out of college.
Internships for high schoolers (In NYC) (Originally Posted: 05/21/2017)
Are there any internships for 10-12 graders in New York City. It can be paid or unpaid. I live in the city so it doesnt matter. Hopefully at a hedge fund or a bank.
I would suggest you enjoy your life before you sell your soul to the system
Good for you for having ambition early on, I wish I had that at that age. I would suggest an unpaid PWM internship for a financial advisor - even if its at a shitty Ameriprise or Edward Jones branch. Many students wanting to break into IB end up interning in PWM at some point in their early college career - with no intention of pursuing PWM, but rather using it as a stepping stone to SA recruitment.
Highly unlikely that a bank would take you, given your age. But I would say go for a PWM internship. Start cold-calling advisors around the city and ask for informational interviews - these people are not as busy as they like to make it seem.
Your in high school still, talk to your counselor and get guidance.
You have to be 18 years old
You can probably get a PWM internship if you really want one during the summer, just start reaching out to some FA's at MM branches and see what happens, the worst is that they say no.
NYC High School Freshman Summer Internship (Originally Posted: 04/17/2014)
Hi everyone,
I go to a prestigious NYC private school and has a lot of connections through its alumni. I asked my counselor about possible internships and I was recommended one at a NYC boutique investment bank whose internship coordinator is an alumni of the school. I was wondering if it is possible to even obtain the internship considering that I am a freshman in high school, and what type of work would I be doing? The investment bank has received quite a few interns from my school before, but almost all of them were upperclassmen. The description/requirement is only that I have an interest and a willingness to learn finance.
Don't you have to be 16 or older to work?
An age requirement was not specified. If you are referring to the Department of Labor regulations, youth under 16 are allowed to work in these sectors.
Exactly. I highly doubt any investment bank would want to mess with child labor laws - even offering unpaid opportunities would be highly sketchy. You're a high school freshman - don't worry about this stuff until your first year of college. Best use of your time might be to take college classes (if you're really motivated to do something productive), or learn something new. Or just be like most high schoolers and do nothing.
If you are truly passionate about IB, just wait out a few years. I know a friend who did lev fin at JPM during her senior year in HS.
Thanks for all your feedback!
High school junior summer internships (Originally Posted: 05/05/2016)
Is there any way to get an internship as a high school junior over summer?
Stop.
Are there any internships for high school graduates? (Originally Posted: 02/07/2017)
Is it possible as a high school senior to undertake any summer internships in the fields of investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, or venture capital? Do internships in these fields exist for someone at my level?
Yea, visit local boutiques and offer to work unpaid/minimum wage. Tell them you just want to shadow and will do anything from binding pitch books to researching industry news
They do exist, but will most likely be with very small places. If you want to go for something more known you better have the family connections
Applying to an PE for a summer internship as a high school graduate? (Originally Posted: 05/12/2014)
Hey everyone,
I am a high school senior and will be attending the University of Western Ontario(Pre-ivey) next year. I know that as a high school student who hasn't even started university, I have no credibility. Even 3rd year students have a hard time getting an internship with PE firms so its definitely a shot in the dark for me.
My story is that I currently work for goodlife fitness(largest gym franchise in canada) and having done some research on the company itself, I came across a PE firm that helped raise capital for the expansion of the franchise. My goal is to finish university, get a couple years of banking experience and hopefully land a position on the buy side.
The PE firm I was looking at deals with MM companies across north america, and their HQ is located on Bay Street in Toronto. I'll admit that I have no experience in the finance industry, however over the past year I've been reading a ton and trying to get a one-up over my colleagues next year in university by getting some experience and understanding the basics.
With that being said, am I being overly-optimistic? With no experience in the industry, will the PE firm see me as a burden? How should I go about contacting them(email,linkedin,call?)
Stick to miscing for the summer.
@"one2three" I haven't misc'd in years, I kept the username because I've used it a ton and its simply the easiest to remember. However, I'm still active on the BB forums because I'm part of the R&D team for a supplement company and consumer feedback is important.
Glad you secured that internship with a hedge fund BTW.
Probably won't happen, but it can't hurt. Even if you don't get it, you can mention in a later interview that you applied/showed interest in high finance at a very early stage in your career.
@"broadstbully" Thanks for the reply! If I were to apply, should I include a cover letter that describes why I'm interested in high finance? I'm afraid that if I do, it'll automatically end up in the TL;DR bin.
Never hurts to try.
Internships for a High Schooler (Originally Posted: 06/02/2016)
I am a 16 year old high school junior that is very interested in the world of finance. I have already started to read college level books about finance and I understand a lot of the language of the industry. I would like to get started as soon as possible in regard to launching my career. In particular I am interested in hedge funds or investment banking. I have some neighbors who are pretty prominent in the finance industry but I don't know how to approach them regarding an internship. Does anyone have some advice for me on how to go about getting an internship while in high school?
I run a HF in SF. You can mop our floors and clean the windows.
Well, Start by identifying your career interests and researching related companies and brands to contact.
Questions about high school awards and internships (Originally Posted: 07/19/2016)
Hi, I'm an incoming college freshman. I competed in an international competition this summer, that's technically a high school competition, and placed 3rd. Should I put this on my LinkedIn as well as job resumes, or would that be kind of dumb since it's from high school? What about other national awards and state-level leadership positions I've won over the years? Some of these are business-related, so I was thinking that might help me some, or at least give me something to talk about.
Also, I was wondering about summer internships after freshman year. Should I go for internships then, or just wait until after sophomore year? If I do, what should I aim for, like PWM? What if I just got an unpaid internship in my home state, not in the northeast, where I would still be able to spend lots of time with family and friends, and then I went for a more formal, serious internship after sophomore year? And then would I be that worse off if I just chilled after freshman year, or should I definitely go for something? Also, I'm going to Harvard/Yale/Princeton.
In my opinion, definitely go for an intern after freshman year. You have plenty of time to party while studying.
I would suggest that you keep that competition win on your resume (as that is probably very significant and the main reason why you got into HYP). I would imagine that it would be a good talking point during interviews/very impressive. As for the business-related stuff, I don't think that is very applicable (especially the stuff from high school), as I am assuming that is either DECA or FBLA competitions.
I would list the competition on your resume, especially since as a Freshman you won't have many experiences or leadership positions. People list high school awards all the time, especially recognizable ones such as AP Scholar with Distinction so you can lump this award along with that section. If the award was one in your senior year or this summer I would list it, otherwise I would be more hesitant. This is because you can make the award seem as if you won it your freshman year which is more prestigious than outright stating that it was won in high school. Although this move is definitely sneaky, it isn't lying and you can always tell your interviewer the truth if he asks about it.
By this I mean, if your award was won this summer you can list it like:
Finalist/3rd Place in the J.P. Morgan International Business Competition 2016
As a freshman you will be class of 2020 so if the award was won 2016 the employer will probably assume it was won your freshman year Fall semester.
High school freshman advice and opportunities. (Originally Posted: 06/22/2017)
Hello. I'm an incoming high school freshman (Yes I know I'm a young kid) and I wad curious to see what IB or finance internship opportunities You could get in high school. (PS. I live in Houston so lots of big firms are near me including Merrill and JPMorgan)
You're kidding....8th grade finished...
In a couple years you could get a sweet gig (think Dairy Queen, McDonald's, Kroger). It's good to see a rising freshman such as yourself. You remind me of a young Goldstein.
Even if you do an internship won't hold any weight. You'll probably be doing remedial tasks and not worth adding to a resume. DM me if you want some advice tho
Sounds great
Peer pressure!!!!!
What?
JPMorgan Janitors have a pretty good internship for high school students. After a couple successful internships, you could probably get a job with them straight out of high school, no need to go to college.
yeah play sports or get a job as a caddy during the summer
Admirable ambition, but at this point in life just enjoy yourself and get good grades. If you're really interested in finance/markets read one of the more accessible wall street books (thinking the Big Short maybe) or get a paper trading acct.
Best thing you can do is get a high GPA, train hard in your sports, possibly look to transfer into a top boarding school or private day school, get accepted to a top university.
Summer Internship at Boutique Investment Bank for HS Student? (Originally Posted: 01/28/2013)
I'm starting college next year (as an undergrad) and plan to become a trader. After nearly a month of searching, I was offered a summer internship as an i-banking analyst at a Boutique Investment bank. The bank has 3 global offices and focuses on companies in emerging markets and IT. They've never offered an analyst internship to a high school student before (all the other SA's are current undergrads).
I want to take this job because I don't think I'll find another opportunity in the industry (the company wants me to let them know in a week). Would the experience I gain as an i-banking analyst significantly help me as a trader (if so, how)? If I do this internship, will it help me get S&T internships at BB's and top prop firms? Please let me know what you think, as I don't have much time to make my decision.
Are you brain dead...take the job
Seriously? This shouldn't even need to be asked. Take the job, get experience on your resume your peers from your year would kill for, and use that to network and get a head start on internships after your first year.
How did you land this? Through a family connection? I am a freshman in high school and no investment bank has been receptive in the slightest to my cold emails.
A high school freshman? There's no way that a high school freshman could land a job at an investment bank. College freshman find it extremely difficult to get a decent finance internship, so there's no way that a HS freshman stands any chance of getting one.
Are you serious? Have fun during your summers in high school, you can worry about cold calling banks in four years. If you want finance/business experience, start a new club in your school and compete in HS competitions. Just volunteer somewhere fun this summer.
Just out of curiosity, why is it that you want to go into trading? The only reason I ask is that the majority of undergrad students (soph/junior level) are still struggling to wrap their mind around why they -really- want to get into banking/trading other than for the salary/prestige.
I'm really not trying to bash you or anything. I myself was interested in getting into finance before I started my undergrad, but I didn't know which specific industry until I took a couple finance/economic courses, read a good amount of outside finance/investment books, and interned at an IM firm.
I'm just interested in what sort of thought process a prospective undergrad has on this. By already having the idea that you want to break into this industry, and already have an internship at your stage, you're way ahead of the majority of your class, which is great.
@StryfeDSP, I've been interested in finance for a long time and have been reading The Economist and the WSJ since I started high school. After reading a few articles on M&I, I discovered derivatives trading, HFT, and algorithmic trading. I realized that trading was perfect for me because its quantitative (if you're trading certain products) and requires you to keep up with the news (which I love doing in my spare time). Also, my uncle is the head of risk-management at a BRIC investment bank and he's taught me a lot about the industry. He's introduced me to various traders and quants that he's worked with.
tl;dr - I've spent a lot of time reading about finance and financial careers on M&I, WSO, and other websites. I've also spoken to a couple of people within the industry, including traders, quants, bankers, and risk-managers.
take it or give it to me
Alright, the consensus is pretty clear. Thanks to everyone who posted.
Did Any of You Have Internships Before College? (Originally Posted: 12/26/2016)
I was wondering if anyone on WSO ever had any internships or work experience in finance/business before starting college. I'm a senior in high school and was wondering if anyone does this. Since I'm probably going into finance, I'm kind of interested to see what it's like, even through the lens of a small local firm. Would you recommend trying to pursue this or should I wait until I get to college?
Thanks
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