I've noticed a lot of people talking about training programs prior to starting as an FT or a Summer Analyst. A lot of them cost an arm and a leg, but the Wall Street Prep Self Study program seems pretty manageable at $500. If anyone has done this, could you please let me know:
How effective it was?
How long it took you?
If the certificate that was provided upon completion was useful?
Thanks in advance.
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I'm currently in the middle of plowing through the Wall Street Prep program. It basically goes through each of the models you would encounter as an analyst and walks you through how to build them on Excel. It also provides little explanations of things (i.e. what a DCF is), but should be just a refresher if you have thoroughly prepped for the interview process. The course is decent and is a great into the modeling work. The downside is that it does not work to educate you in the shortcuts, or methods bankers typically use in Excel -- something covered very thoroughly in the classroom-type seminars.
The certificate is useless. Think about it, if you haven't landed an offer, the interviewers could care less if you show them a paper certificate or not. It will let you put something under your education besides your university work though. That can aide in landing a 1st round interview and showing you have interest in the field. It's been briefly glossed over in each of my interviews and while it might not have been a tipping factor, it definitely was a noticeable boost.
The other scenario is that you have landed a SA/FT and you've never done banking before. Again, the certificate won't mean shit. However, it is nice to have a basic grasp of the fire as you're being thrown directly into it. That said, NEITHER the self-prep courses or the in-person seminar courses will prepare you well enough to hit the ground running at full speed. Modeling is something that takes practice and exposure to.
If you are going to be a SA, I would consider thinking about the seminar-programs. Think of it this way, even at $2000, the price is pocket change compared to the amount you'll be earning if you do land a FT. Given this market, I would opt for any leg-up over the competition before landing in the role.
It's not for everyone (nor necessary) and money is definitely an issue but it does have its values.
yawster, are u attending the live sessions or the self-study?
I want to comment on Yawster's post but first, full disclosure: I teach an intro investment banking course at one of the live seminar programs (www.instituteforfinance.com).
I think Yawster is dead on accurate. Both self study programs and live seminars can be useful and whether either is worth the money is really up to each individual. The certificate itself is indeed worthless. However, the knowledge you can learn at a GOOD program (either self-study or live) can be a significant help in the job search/recruiting/interviewing process as well as once you start as a PT or FT analyst or associate. Yawster is also correct to state that you will by no means be an expert financial modeler after taking a course. this will only come with real work experience. However, being introduced to and learning how to do things the right way (or at least the "banking" way) before you start working can be a huge advantage to you and can help differentiate you from your analyst peers. This is true for not just financial modeling and excel but also financial statement analysis, valuation and general banking knowledge. Obviously there are some significant advantages to live programs but I don't want this post to sound like a commercial.
As far as self-study programs go, Wall Street Prep is good. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. If you are considering live courses, make sure that you do you homework first.
Thank you all for the advice. I actually did an internship in I-banking last summer, but was in a product group. I will be starting full time for another bank in an industry group in July. My main goal is to have a firm grasp on the modeling methodologies, so that I can go into training with the knowledge at hand.
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