How can I switch into finance from oil & gas (or any other industry)?
Hello,
I have BS in Geology (and a BA in Biology) from a non-target school, and have worked in the Oilfield Services industry in roles related to field geology for six years. I feel my true passion is the intersection of finance and geology and I would love a job doing analysis of natural resource extraction companies (energy or mining). I moved to NYC in March and I am still looking for a job. Everytime I speak with someone they say I'll be of use to someone, but ultimately have no leads or suggestions. I have not been able to even land an interview, and I feel there are digital parameters used by staffing firms and HR departments that screen out my resume.
Can anyone offer advice on how to switch careers into finance?
PS. I'll be taking a 30hr Finance Boot Camp on the weekends starting at the end of June and going into July. It is run by the International Finance Institution, are any of you familar with this program? Is this a good idea?
Houston, Texas
O&G Engineer Breaking into Finance/ Banking (Originally Posted: 02/12/2016)
A bit of background on myself:
Graduated with a Bachelors of Engineering (1st Class Hons.) in Mechatronics Engineering. Have hit my 2 year mark now at a supermajor O&G firm as a Maintenance/ Mech. Engineer. Working for two years now I realize I do not want to be an engineer anymore. Painstakingly slow career progression, regardless of how much of a star performer you are, and very little challenge. I feel like I could produce the same results by working 20 hours a week rather than the 40. There just aren't many opportunities to push yourself and test your limits in this industry.
After a lot of reflection over the past couple months, I am starting to think that I may be better suited for consulting or banking due to my long-term career aspirations and highly ambitious nature. The money and overall reward/effort ratio is a big factor for me as well.
If I wanted to pursue this path what do I need to do in order to position myself into a banking or consulting position? I don't think I would be taking much of a salary cut by applying myself for a graduate/ entry-level position. But the question is, would a company be willing to take me as a graduate with 2 years experience?
I've also been thinking of doing an MBA and then applying for post-MBA positions. But I am not in the position to afford a 200k program and no income.
Sorry for the long post, I really appreciate any input help from you guys! Thank you.
Hey,
P.E. working for large independent (one of the good ones), looking to make a similar career shift. What schools are to looking at if you take the MBA route?
No idea at the moment. I'm going to try my hand at entry-level positions straight off the bat. However, all I've got on my resume is engineering and more engineering. I'm going to have to start getting some sort of finance qualifications if I'm going to get sighted.
I won't post on things that I don't know, so I am not sure on your first question. With regard to the MBA route, there are actually some other options. Rice's part time MBA placed four with the banks in Houston this year, with a very high offer rate. You can keep your current job and leave after the first year of school if you can land the summer associate internship. I know of one person that skipped the summer internship and still got a FT offer, but this is a high risk proposition. McCombs and Rice full time will do well in the Energy space. Every bank is going to ask you why energy and why Houston, so coming from those two schools makes answering those questions easier.
This is all assuming you want to stay in energy banking in Houston. If you are looking to do something else, I would suggest target schools Full Time as your only real option (but I have no experience here).
Full disclosure: I had > 5 years at a major prior to my MBA (at Rice) and switch. The PT program is not designed for making a career change, and it will make life more difficult. Clearly it is possible. I only suggest it as the starting point is important. I was significantly further along in my career (and likely making a little bit more money), so the NPV might be different for you.
Going from Energy (traditional oil/gas) into finance (Originally Posted: 03/04/2014)
Hi everyone,
I have been working at a major integrated oil/gas company in Houston straight out of undergrad. My undergrad was in Mechanical Engineering/Economics, and I currently do Business Planning & Analysis work (project analysis, DCF modeling, market analysis, etc).
I'm looking to transition into a finance role, specifically within investment banking or equity research.
I, too, have a related question that I am currently not able to post (I have no idea why):
I just accepted an offer to work in Corporate Banking for a BB's Oil & Gas Headquarters in Houston.
I was wondering if someone could answer some questions I have: 1) What are the pro's and con's to working in sales or underwriting? 2) Do I get unique financial modeling skills at a job like this? 3) Can you move from this to ibanking with the unique skills you get? 4) What can I do to prepare myself for this job (books, publications, skills, etc)?
Maybe this will help the OP in his/her search as well.
Oil&Gas Finance trying to break into IB (Originally Posted: 01/11/2012)
http://www.razume.com/documents/23865
Background:
I work for one of the major intergrated oil companies (chevron, total, conocophillips). I have been here for a full year now and now I'm wanting to break into IB. I've had a few interviews but I haven't been able to land an IB position.
I thought my resume was ok but I want to be in the best postion possible when I start applying to energy banks again next week. Can you guys please take a look at my resume and let me know if there is anything that I should change or improve on??
Also, I went to a non-target. And, I'm in a rotational program at this company (don't know if should mention this in my resume or not??). I guess I'm looking for any kind of edge at this point.
Thanks.
C'mon guys, some input would be appreciated!!
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Thank you very much. That was very useful!
I think all the issues you pointed out seem spot on! I will definitely add a leadership section to make my experience stand out a bit more.
Thanks again for that thorough analysis of my resume!
Quick comments: Remove the first word of each sentence in the O&G job. Afterwards, it should say:
[remove/change last point]
OGB gave good advice on Mountain King Potatoes experience. I also agree that you need to quantify the results of your experiences.
Remove Texas Southway, AT&T, & Sprint.
Lateraling from completely unrelated industry (Originally Posted: 01/31/2009)
I realize that the market is in shambles right now and hiring is a complete shitshow. I have a question for maybe 1 year down the line (hopefully stuff clears by then). Is it possible to lateral from a different industry, but apply as a college student (i.e. someone with 2 years of experience applying to compete against college seniors for FT positions)? Would an analyst be able to influence whether the candidate gets an interview?
Here is my situation. I am scheduled to start at a BB bank. My older brother recently expressed interest in investment banking. He has a CompSci degree and has worked for about 2 years as a software engineer. Market conditions aside, I'm curious whether I would be able to vouch for him and get him interviews for FT positions, but as a new hire and not as a lateral (since he doesn't have prior IB background, he needs the training).
he would probably have a disadvantage, as banks focus mainly on college grads to fill the necessary entry level analyst positions. That said, you may make a really good impression on your MD and convince him to give your brother a chance. Otherwise, Engineer->MBA->Associate
I realize that it's unconventional; I'm curious how much sway my endorsement would hold and whether it could overcome the disadvantage of applying as a lateral. Any current bankers work with unconventional laterals in your past banking classes? How did those guys get in?
You haven't even started yet? Unfortunately, your recommendation will not hold any weight. The fact that this person is your brother throws up a red flag that you may be biased in your rec. However, if your brother is very credentialed, as in MIT engineer with a high GPA and SATs, you won't look as silly pushing his resume. If he is just run-of-the-mill software engineer, spare yourself the embarrassment.
~~~~~~~~~~~ CompBanker
How involved are analysts in the recruiting process? I've interned at 2 BB banks and both seemed to rely heavily on Analysts to select from first round interviews who gets invited to superday. Also, I summered at this bank, so while I haven't started full time, the group is familiar with my work product. I am very well-liked and my group has been selling me heavily to rejoin the bank as opposed to attending business school. Perhaps I could get him a group-specific interview/offer?
Career Advice - Trying to break into PE coming from non-finance (Originally Posted: 09/19/2013)
I am trying to break into the private equity industry coming from a non-finance background. I was hoping someone might have some tips for me regarding possible internships or jobs.
I am a first year MBA student at Texas Christian University. Previous work experience is as a civil engineering providing engineering consulting to clients.
If your name is the real one, you should take it off to keep your privacy. It's the internet and I just googled your name, the results weren't what I expected (it's not you on the first page, but still...)
I highly suggest you anonymise that document. Take it down as soon as you read this and post it again once you have redacted key information, unless that information is completely erroneous.
Thanks. I took it down. What about linking it to my LinkedIn profile.
Associate Lateral with non-finance background? (Originally Posted: 12/19/2010)
Let's say hypothetically, you were a 27 year old graduate with a non-MBA masters degree from a US top 20 school with 1.5 years of experience as an Economist at one of those US Government Departments of XXX.
Knowing full well that it will be difficult to lateral over to a firm as an Associate (possibly a senior analyst?), what would YOU recommend to help maximize my chance of making the jump? And do you know of anyone with a similar background that has done it?
Thanks!
What department of a firm? The jump would be much easier to a research desk for example as opposed to a trading desk. CFA can help depending on what you want to do.
Wow - completely forgot to even mention that! Sorry.
I was thinking banking in a media/tech group because of a past experience of mine doing strategy for a company. POSSIBLY an aerospace/defense group with my current experience?
It's either that or a research desk. I think the research desk is fairly likely but the banking side might be a bit difficult.
1.5 yrs exp as an Economist... much more likely a lateral Analyst hire than an Associate. For an Associate lateral, you're looking at 3yrs of relevant experience without MBA.
Analyst or stick your current job out for another year or two and get a top 15 MBA.
more like a year 1 or 2 analyst.. would be tough...i know people who made the jump but from accounting backgrounds
Does O&G Industry Experience Matter for I-Banking? (Originally Posted: 06/07/2015)
I am currently working for a major F500 O&G equipment and services company about to transition out of our rotational program focused on Supply Chain/Operations into a "permanent" position. My next role will be working as a Business Development Analyst sourcing for M&A opportunities and working with my corporate counterparts to perform the due diligence and execution of potential deal(s).
I do have a background in Finance focused on the energy industry however, I went to a non-target. Unlike other non-targets my school is developing a solid reputation for its business program (especially in areas of accounting and entrepreneurship) however I-Banking is almost unheard of despite the push in developing a program in this area.
Getting to the point, is it possible for someone with O&G industry experience to move into I-Banking? My primary focus would be to pursue an I-Banking opportunity within the O&G space with a focus on equipment and services. Even outside of O&G I have manufacturing experience and would also look forward to opportunities serving industrial clients.
Thus far I only have an undergrad and have seen job positing(s) in my city for I-Banking in natural resources and O&G. Would my background trump or at least help my chances of potentially landing an opportunity since I have lived and worked in the city which has openings or is it a long shot?
Not directly related to I-Banking but I have started and am a partner at a small firm where we provide capital to small business owners in the area. In this space I have served in a capacity whereby I identify small businesses in need of funding and have experience performing credit analysis prior to investments. The firm overall has performed well however I'd like to move away from this and pursue opportunities in M&A on a much larger scale.
I apologize for the wall of text but thank you in advance for your feedback. If this question has been asked before please provide me a link so I can review. Thanks!
Most logical approach would be to head to b-school and recruit for an associate position If IB is your long term career goal. Alternatively, you could reach out to recruiters, network, etc. and try to transition now but analyst hiring is pretty structured/standardized so it may be difficult. Sounds like you are building a solid O&G skillset.
junkbondswap thanks for the reply! For analyst positions I have seen one where they are looking for someone in the Class of 2014 although they hinted that wasn't a must have. If I graduated back in 2013 and have two years of industry experience does that ding my chances?
I get an impression that for I-Banking you come straight from undergrad or go get an MBA and become an associate otherwise its almost impossible to join the analyst class after some industry, non-I Banking experience.
Is this a true statement or no?
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