How bad does not having an intership hurt you?

I am currently a senior in college double majoring in Economic Consulting and Entrepreneurship at a top 15 program. I have budgeted for four years of college (coming out after 2011 with no debt from school) but had to work AND take summer school all summer every summer to do so (switched majors after a semester from Finance to Economic Consulting). Thus, I have chosen not to search for an internship because I thought that it would be more beneficial to myself coming out of school with no debt than having 1 descent internship and having to accrue an extra semesters worth of expenses in doing so. My rational was a job is not certain and therefore if I had debt I would not necessarily have the means to pay it back right away. Aside from IB and top consulting firms, do I still have a chance to enter the consulting industry (at the bottom of a boutique consulting firm)? I have founded my own consulting firm (within my business school) and have had numerous (failed) attempts at starting small start-ups to gain credibility in the interview process. A mediocre GPA simply because school (aside from major courses) bores me to death, and a lack of top "real-world" experience, do I stand a chance?

 

To be honest, no. Bad GPA is strike one. No internships is strike two and three.

You can try and network which might land you an interview. I would probably start having informals with alumni right now. In the mean time, after graduation, try finding a job that gives you some type of toe hold into banking. You might want to look at commercial banking, specifically credit analyst programs. Not IB, but will give you some fundamental skills and a decent paycheck. Look at anything F500 and try and get into their treasury department also.

 

Don't sweat it, bro. You've made mature decisions and learned more from your start-up failures than you probably realize yet. You're going to do fine. It sounds like you've developed the chops to make it in this world. If that means you don't work in IB or consulting, so what?

I, for one, would much rather hire a kid who finished college with no debt by working his summers and taking a shot on a couple of start-ups than some entitled trust fund baby who coasted through without a care in the world.

Don't forget: the "A" students always end up working for the "C" students, because someone who knows why something needs to be done is always more valuable than someone who knows how to do it.

 

Thanks guys for your feed back

-anthony - my major(s) gpa will be ~3.7 and my overall a ~3.3 is that really that bad to be considered a strike? And what I mean when school bores me is that any non major class I usually end up reading reuters on my phone throughout the majority of class so I'm still learning just not nec. that specific course (i.e. astronomy 100). And when I am in those classes such as astronomy 100 (just took last semester) I take away the business aspects - IBs hire physics majors etc. from the material such as how to use the scientific method when looking at a given problem. Learned this trick from my physics teacher whom had just graduated from Notre Dame and was recruited by Goldman - He's a physics major and told me what to look for in my non core classes. Also, most of my friends whom have successfully completed internships at places such as John Buck or BofA, have told me it's really not too different from the course material they learned (more in depth obviously) but overall they said that what they learned could be achieved through reading and working outside of the classroom. Business Development and Strategy are more my thing therefore I will not be trying for an IB position so I will most likely just try for any F500 position that I see fit.

Edmundo - Haha you understand where I'm coming from. I'm the minority in my bschool because most are wealthy and have the connections made through daddy (which is great for them, I mean no disrespect) but I don't so I have to find creative alternatives to make myself a candidate in the job pool. And your last statement has been preached by my Ent. teachers throughout school. You nailed that one.

 

Hey dude, sorry for being too harsh. I think your GPA is fine especially coupled with the fact that you worked. I worked full time throughout my UG and never interned so I know the boat you are in. Look for leadership development programs or something like that. Most banks have them in the commercial/corporate side, GE has a great one, JNJ, etc. Basically all F500 companies have some type of rotational program. Great exposure and they really set you apart. Just stress the stuff you did during school and you will be fine.

 
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