Should I get into IB through an internship first?
Hello everyone, I know this question has been asked a thousand times already, but as expected, everyone has their own qualifications and I wanted opinions on mine, and I was wondering whether I could just go straight into applying for an analyst position or intern first.
I'm a finance graduate from a decent school in Dubai with a of 3.4 (out of 4 US scale). I'm currently interning as an auditor at KPMG Dubai (3 months in the Consumer & Industrial Markets sector, and planning for another 3 months at the Financial Services sector). I'm enrolled in the Cass Business School (London) in September for a masters degree in banking and international finance, so I would be expected to finish by early July 2016, in which I will be 22 years old at the time. I've read that Cass is a target school for some banks in the UK, maybe not as much as the other Ivy League level universities, but still good enough to be considered.
Of course I will start my applications as soon as possible but I was wondering if I could get in as an analyst or should I intern first if I've not met the criteria with my current qualifications. Can I target bulge bracket banks or should I go for boutique firms? The problem is I would be on a student Visa and, and I don't know if I would be provided a short-stay employment Visa if I'm doing just an internship in London, as that is not the case here in Dubai.
Thanks for the help in advance guys!