I think I've decided today not to do an MBA

taylorman_23 — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:39:52 -0400

I was planning on entering in 2010 in either the States with an investment banking background (from Dubai), but I'm no longer confident that recruiting for international students will be strong enough to give me job opportunities upon graduation. Most banks won't be in any shape to hire associates at historical salary and bonus levels for a while, and I think the impact of a new US President would be negative in either case; higher taxes under Obama and lower likelihood of H1B sponsorship under McCain. It's a $150,000 risk I'm not willing to take anymore. Dubai's relatively safe at the moment, but the markets have been tanking here too, and Lehman's going to close down its offices here any time now. The BBs are barely hiring, but I think I'll stick it out at my regional bank and transfer out to a BB or PE firm when hiring is up again, minus the expense of an MBA.

Ever worked with an associate who was an analyst before bschool?

taylorman_23 — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:52:50 -0400

How rare is that? I'm hoping to go to an M7 school and I'm currently in banking at a good firm (a big one regionally but probably unknown in the States); I'd love to do buyside (PE) out of my MBA but I think that's unrealistic considering I don't have a BB on my resume yet, so I'd probably go for the BB jobs right out of school. To those of you who have some insight on the recruiting process for associates, do people with former banking experience have an edge at all, or does it depend more on undergrad school/blue chip background? A definite plus I could see is that I would definitely hit the ground running on a summer associate gig and know how to work with analysts already.

Would people ask why I'd take a break from banking to get back into banking?

I've always wondered about 'M/B/B'...

taylorman_23 — Sun, 18 May 2008 03:26:42 -0400

I'm sure the 'M' and first 'B' are McKinsey and Bain, but is the third 'B' Booz Allen or Boston Consulting Group? Pardon my ignorance.

The documentation analyst/modeling analyst dynamic

taylorman_23 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:56:19 -0400

I find that the associates and AVPs realize early on who has a natural aptitude or interest for numbers and Excel, and who's better at the qualitative stuff. I've found that this played out in my firm and I've heard it mentioned sometimes on here too.

Bateman moment: which bank has the coolest business cards?

taylorman_23 — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 07:55:38 -0500

I just got my new ones today. I wanted them to say Analyst - Investment Banking Advisory, but there's been a decision to call it the Investment Banking Group, so I didn't really get to choose. Nice texture though. I wish I could have sneaked 'Origination & Execution' on there somewhere, because that is certified badass.

West Coast banking - advantages/disadvantages?

taylorman_23 — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:57:29 -0500

I've been thinking about doing an MBA at Berkeley because the place sounds fantastic to me, and I'm really not a huge fan of NYC (other schools I would apply to would be Tuck, Columbia and Yale SOM for NY IB jobs). But what are the key difference between California IBDs and New York?

Have you met any famous bankers?

taylorman_23 — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:01:05 -0500

Seeing as most of us on here are lowly analysts and many of us are in satellite cities (or countries even), I was just wondering if any of you guys have had run-ins with any really famous bankers; I mean like Wasserstein, Dimon, Quattrone, Sykes, Pandit, Mack etc.

Would going to any of these schools be a bad idea?

taylorman_23 — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:35:34 -0500

I'm an analyst with emerging markets experience planning to do an MBA, but I'm not a huge fan of big cities. I know there's places in smaller towns with great schools, like Cambridge and Hanover. I get the impression that getting a BB offer right out of these schools isn't that difficult (even for an international student like myself). But what about these schools?

Would you prefer to graduate at 27 or 28?

taylorman_23 — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 06:00:46 -0500

I know it's picky, but which do you think makes more sense for an IB job? How old's the average BB hire straight out of an MBA?

ECM - Top 10 MBA - M&A BB?

taylorman_23 — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 05:46:23 -0500

I'm currently working as an analyst in the IBD group of one of the largest investment banks in Dubai (we had a part in every single IPO the last 2 years or so, in conjunction with some of the other big players here; Deutsche, Merrill etc.). I just got the gig after a transfer from a Business Analysis (middle office) function in the same bank, and I'm loving the work so far.