3 years out of HYPSM and in public service; break into IB?

Im just a college student so take this with a grain of salt. However, I have read on this board that people in your situation often have a tougher time because a bank doesnt have a clear place to put your (ie analyst or associate). You'd probably be better off going to business school. My 2 cents.

I think business schools would like you and that can put you in a position to be in an Associate role in 2 years. If you do it now, you'll be an analyst fior the next 2 years most likely. But in general, the non-traditional background can be an edge from time to time.

Public Finance - http://www2.goldmansachs.com/services/financing/muni-finance/index.html (all banks have this, just using GS as their website is good). Seems like you could build a story around your current experience and how it may tie into this. Scour your undergrad alumni database for ppl working in this dept of an IB.

Good luck

Business School would be a good option. There's no point you going in as an Analyst.

thanks guys. my predicament now is that I don't think I have nearly enough saved to pay for business school for the next two years, but I don't want to stay longer at this job either because the experience I will accumulate is irrelevant to finance. Is it not possible to land an interview without going back to school, by cold-calling with my resume and my undergrad degree?

Not really possible, you're too old for analyst.

I know what HYPS is, but what's "M"?

Hi guys, I've decided to go the b-school route, thanks for all the advice!

I do wonder whether it'll pay off in the end though, if I want to go into finance. Thing is, I have no finance experience, and to make it worse my background is in government service. I figure I would have to work an extra year to save up enough for a top b-school, so in total i'll have 4, creeping into 5, years of pure public sector experience. Assuming that I DO get into a HWS-level MBA, what are my chances of getting into finance? Doesn't have to be IB, though that would be nice... I'm just really interested in finance and the markets, and as long as I'm not in back office I would be happy, given my handicapped background.

Three years out not a long time to be out. Military people do 4 year of military service and then go to college. Just apply online and send your resume out to alumnus. You just graduated during the worst time possible for someone who wanted to enter finance. If you never swing, you never going to hit the ball.

I will definitely try applying to both the banks and b-school. Thanks for your advice!

Has anyone heard of successful transitions from pure government background into IB, though? Excluding the military people - they seem to be especially respected by IBs. I'm from a purely civilian background.

Yes, your background could help you get into banking, consulting, research. PE might not be realistic for you, but besides that it sounds like top b-school --> banking will work for you.