Is RA Experience Relevant/Useful to a new Finance Career?

Hi, all,

This is sort of targeted toward those in corporate and big firm finance, especially hiring manager types. For a new college grad, is RA experience relevant?

I'm sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place. I've been selected as an RA this year, which yay, that means free room and board, but the catch is that I can work no more than ten hours per week. They watch us like hawks to ensure we don't break that rule. But paying bills is impossible on ten hours a week. I'm considering withdrawing and working instead. Would I be shooting myself in the foot opting out of the RA experience and chasing a part-time job or a paid internship instead? I have to decide pretty quickly, so all feedback is welcome.

Thanks!

6 Comments
 

Curious as well, (I'm talking with a shop for the same type of position, I'm willing to start over at the bottom of an area I actually like)

Get busy living
 

Did you mean research asst - analyst - associate?

At my old firm (a mm ib) there were research assistants, they strictly pulled research reports and filings etc. It's a good first job if you are younger, like maybe after your jr year before you try for full time (assuming nothing more substantial pans out). For fulltime, try to use it to move to banking within a year. After that point, hard to parlay it into a legit analyst position. Network.

if you like it then you shoulda put a banana on it
 
frgnaDid you mean research asst - analyst - associate?

No. I meant loads of posts on WSO seem to indicate that within a classic research framework analyst is a higher position than associate. Regardless, research assistant is below both. I agree, possibly wouldn't want to be doing a role like this for too long.

In the interview, how do people think about querying some of these issues? There are many nice positions I'd like to move to within the same firm, there will be openings for equity analyst roles etc...

 

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if you like it then you shoulda put a banana on it
 

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