I work at the entry level at a physical natural gas trading desk in Houston, Texas. I'm planning on heading to business school in two or three years for Energy Management. I've got a few questions regarding that.

For some background, I have zero interest in going to HYPS/the Ivy League for the prestige factor. All that I care about is maximizing my opportunities and my career network for the energy industry, specifically. I do not care about any other industry; I'm planning on working in oil and gas until the 22nd century if I'm granted that much time.

From what I've learned so far, some good Energy Management programs are Rice, Tulsa, and UT Austin. Are there any others? Are there other schools that I ought to be taking a good, hard look at?

Will be working as an SA in Houston this summer and was wondering how much after taxes you guys made for your internship and for full time? I'm trying to figure out what I can afford in terms of housing, and I'm getting confused about how much is taken out for taxes and how much we get back. For example, if I make 20K this summer, how much will I pay for taxes? Do I get most of it back?

And then for FT, 10K sign on + 70K base + ~40K bonus? Is about 120K pre-tax correct? Of that, how much do you keep after taxes? I know bonuses are taxed at a higher rate, but a little confused about how this works. Thanks for the help!

Hi there,
Have been trying to find energy/o&g focused consulting firms such as SBC or PFC but having a hard time finding more than a couple.

Are there more of them out there or is this segment really just that small? Which firms would you consider the top shops in this segment? How hard are they to get into with a background purely within finance?

Thanks

I will be working FT at BB's energy group and was wondering if I would be able to join a generalist PE/HF later on or do corp. dev at a non-energy firm? I am interested in energy right now and it seems like a field I'd like to make a career in but I'd like to have the optionality.

Has anyone here moved from energy into a generalist area after an analyst stint? Is there anything to look for or specific to do come buyside recruiting?

Hello,

I find myself in a bit of a bind and I am hopeful that folks here can offer me some good advice.

I am 26 years old and currently work at one of the top power merchant companies. I used to be an analyst in Origination, but now, after some restructuring within the company, I find myself working in an increasingly quantitative role where I am starting to pick up programming skills and gain greater understanding of derivatives and logic underlying their pricing and their use for hedging/speculation. However, after 2 years of doing this job I find my opportunities for advancement and growth diminishing in an increasingly bureaucratized environment and frankly am looking for a way out.

If I were looking to get into energy banking in houston, how would I go about it from an east-coast target school? It seems they like to recruit in-state, so would I be at a disadvantage.
Any advice is appreciated.

Hi everyone, long time reader first time poster.

I'm interning in Houston this summer in energy IBD, and I'm not originally from the Texas area so I don't know much about the exit ops. I know some of the banks place really well in PE, but I was wondering if this is only specific to energy PE? Or is it possible to place at a megafund in NY? If so, which banks in Houston would allow for best placement?

Hi all!

I was wondering if it's OK to use a guild/raid leader at a letter of reference when applying to IBD at top banks. My reasoning is that if you're in an elite WW top 5 guild you should be able to use the prestige and uberness of your items to get access into a top 5 WW IB or PE firm, like Rutgers. Furthermore, we all know raiding and killing very hard dragons and skeletons are hard work just like IBD I think the letter would be perfect!

When raiding(just like working except no lunch/restroom breaks you use a 2 liter bottle) for 80+ hours a week you have to have insane, assasine and ungodly amount of drive and work ethic, something BB require!

Also, you have to deal with bad coworkers who make your guild/firm bad and are first to go when a recession/patch hit.

Hi all,

Just what exactly can you do / new jobs can you obtain by passing a level 2 CFA? Does it really make you that much more competitive if you have almost NO work experience?

I would appreciate all inputs, Thanks all!

Can working on the prop desk at a Utility/Generation firm leave you with great exit ops? Can one easily move to other hedge funds or the prop desks at IB's?

Listen, I was just looking around at pictures from space of North America and saw something pretty badass.

Take a look at the attached image of the lights in North America at night. Of course you can pretty easily see all the major cities... (who cares right?)

But if you look a little closer (I've circled them for you), you can see the lights from the rigs drilling the Eagle Ford shale (South Texas) and the Bakken Shale (North Dakota).

Really helps put into scale just how unbelievably massive some of these shale plays are. The drilling programs are so big that literally these areas are turning into miniature cities.

Enjoy.

NY has a thread, but not Houston. I know all the Texas folks have superdays this week, so I figured we keep one another updated on the process.

What first rounds have you had? What second rounds are schedules? Anyone have offers yet?

I sat on the article for a few weeks, but it still surprises me. I'm not entirely unfamiliar with the energy market and I had no idea the US had this potential for OIL. The Middle East throws oil around like it's water in their home countries (in fact, they burn astronomical amounts of oil to run water desalinization plants) but it's hard to imagine ever seeing that type of oil wealth in the US. Nevertheless, while the IEA is far from infallible they are a fairly well-substantiated source. As the article mentions, such a tidal shift would dramatically alter the face of geopolitics. Any thoughts on the following article?

http://news.yahoo.com/u-overtake-saudi-top-oil-pro...

I wanted to know if anyone could elaborate on the positive and negative aspects of being a generalist analyst versus an analyst in a specific industry (more specifically Energy)

Well this site helped me greatly when I was coming out of school and now I am looking at possibly changing things up a bit, so would appreciate some advice.

Background:
- 26
- Desk trader at a market making options firm [I am currently still employed]
- Manage my own product (part of a larger delta neutral book)

I've recently hired a head hunter to jump to another firm, but my question is how do I lateral to something new? I want to keep trading, but just something different (oil? energy?). I feel like I'm caught in between since I don't have 8-10 years of experience, and I'm also not fresh out of college. Anyone been down this road?

Hey everyone,

I've seen threads on this before and it seems that the consensus is that Barclays and Credit Suisse are tops in Houston. I haven't seen much agreement about any of the other Bulge Brackets there either. Specifically, how are JPM, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, BAML, Deutsche Bank and others regarded in terms of lifestyle/culture, dealflow, buyside ops, b-school etc.? Is there a legit hierarchy or are they all approximately similar?

Also, how are the boutiques? I know Simmons and TPH are well regarded, but what about Evercore, Greenhill and Lazard?

Thanks for any help

Hey all. I go to a non-target, and have practically have 0 alumni base in IB.

Good news is that Energy consulting firms do happen to recruit from my school. My question to all of you is: Is E consulting the real deal? Pay the same? Prestige? Hours? Ect...

Also, if I chose to do E consulting, would a degree in "energy commerce" be ideal? Or, a 'plain ole finance degree'?

Any input would be great!

I attended a notable college in Texas, unfortunately a non-target school. Being a jackass, I didn't pursue a business degree (law instead). Worked in the oil fields during the summers. Did an internship my senior year at a boutique energy investment bank. And now I'm trying to pursue and MBA specializing in energy finance.

I am searching for the best MBA school, known for there energy finance. I know Texas McCombs has a good program, along with Rice University.

But the question is, who has the best MBA program for energy finance? Or, screw the specialty/ industry focus and try to get into the notable target schools? What are your thoughts on this? I got a 762 on the GMAT?

This is a game changer. Just knowing this fact changes the leverage with which we run out policy in the Middle East.

Let that fucking region be damned and let us get out of it for ever.

I'm currently in the military and there are a ton of different stereotypes for each community based on what you fly, what MOS you have, what class of ship you're on, which coast you live on, etc.

Is this true for the corporate world as well and how does corporate strategy in energy (big oil) compare to corp strat in tech (google/amazon)? I'm interested in both, just trying to see if one has better pay, quality of life, career progression, hawaiian-shirt Fridays, etc to better aim my school choices and recruiting efforts....I know each company/manager/co-worker is different, just looking for a macro view of any differences in the industries. Thanks!

Hi, young monkey here who is in talks with MS LDN/FRA

I was wondering if anyone knows which MS IBD groups are considered best in London.

How is it divided anyway?

1)Products: M&A, CapMarkets, Securitized Products...

2)Industries: TMT, Transportation, RE, HC...

3)Countries: Nordics, CEE...

Am I wrong here?

I dont really understand in which group can an analyst in London end up. Are there so many groups, or is M&A integrated in other groups? Or can you do the pure M&A, regardless of the industry/country etc.? I dont understand what deals would be that group getting, confused here :\

Many thanks guys!

Looking to find out the best firms in New York that specialize in energy (or have energy branches/departments)

Currently in MS of Energy Finance and wondering where to look for opportunities in NY.

Thanks

Hey WSO,

Does anyone know some good online resources I can look at for learning more about energy in advance of a full time interview with an industry group? In particular, anything relevant to financial valuation (i.e. industry specific metrics) or anything else that would be helpful to someone doing a FT energy interview who is a relative rookie.

I am looking for anyone who works at a major energy company and/or anyone who has interviewed for the Trading departments at any of these firms.
a) how do I get my CV read? I feel like I am dropping it in a huge sea of nothingness
b) what are the roles like in the "Trading" departments? In particular, I am interested in getting involved with the energy-specific functions like wet operations, contract preparations, and risk management for the energy sector.
any advice would be greatly apreciated!
In particular, I am shooting for Shell; so would be thankful for any inside knowledge.

Hey guys, like the title suggests I'm interested in how banks stack up in Houston for IB. I know that this has been addressed tons of times (yes, I did search) but I wanted to get an update. From what I've heard, there has been a lot of change in the energy/oil & gas teams in Houston (eg. UBS guys leaving for Citi). For a rising junior looking to be an SA and ultimately PE after two years, what are the top shops in Houston in terms of exit opps & prestige?

From what I found when I searched, it looks something like this:

1) Barclays, CS
2) JPM, Citi
3) GS, MS
4) The rest

Also interested in how the elite boutiques stack up to the BBs in Houston. Thanks in advance, I really appreciate any input.

Hi guys,
I've been an equities sales trader for the last 5 years in Athens Greece with a total work exp of 8 years, plus 1.5 years of military service. I've graduated from Cass Business School in London in 2002 with a BSc in finance and an MSc in Shipping, Trade & Finance.
I have decided that i want to make a career switch into commodities trading.

What do you think are the chances of getting accepted at 12 month junior physical trading programme like the one that Trafigura runs every year, at the age of 33-34?
In theory the programm targets candidates with 2-3 years of trading exp.

Has anyone heard about the Houston Energy Panel hosted by Wharton? I posted this in the Business School Forum but thought the energy guys out there might be interestred. Although I am not in the energy industry I am interested in that sector post MBA and am a Houston resident so going it's a no brainer.

http://upenngsb.askadmissions.net/Portal/EI/ViewDe...