Advice Needed - Houston IB Energy Banking

How goes it,

I'm in need of some advice. To give a little background I'm undergrad Economics with not much financial experience except for a six-month internship. I intend to complete WallStreetPrep or one of the other programs this Summer, as it is looking like I'll be able to land a job in energy IB in the Fall after talking to the same firm for some time. My question is, should I complete the MSF that I was admitted to that starts in the Fall? Or should I just start my career in Energy Banking? All answers welcome. Thank you.

10 Comments
 

No formal job offer yet, but has a chance of turning into a FT offer. It's at a smaller boutique firm that's on the up and coming. Not at the top of boutiques but certainly up there. Would be a great place to start a career and has the dream job feel. It's the UT MSF degree (#6 in the nation I think?). Around $50K.

 

What level boutique? If it’s Intrepid or Petrie, do not get an MSF because both of those shops are great places to be. If it’s a complete no-name shop, then I would probably go for the MSF

 

IMO - the MSF is useless to me unless you went to a non-target and did poorly or went to a non-target and studied underwater basket weaving and then discovered IB. If you get the offer go, but keep applying in the meantime. I wouldn't go back to school right now, the FT analyst market is too hot.

Array
 

I agree with that. I went to a target school but got sub-optimal grades. This would be somewhat of a re-brand. Not sure how badly I want to get an MBA later on, so taking the chance to go back to school now could be helpful. Also, the offer would most likely be there after I finished the MSF. So I'm essentially asking if I should go back to school or not. 

 
Most Helpful

To address your broader question - whilst your technicals will indeed be important, when I interview incoming analysts, what matters more to me is demonstration of a passion for energy. To that end, if you sit in Upstream, you need to be a regular reader of the Journal of Petroleum Technology. If midstream - RBN Energy is your Bible. So much of what we do is learned on the job so don’t worry too much. Just remember that someone who is demonstrably passionate about energy and can speak to a broad range of topics therein impresses me far more than a cut and dry “I just wanna be a banker bro” type with a perfect CV.

 

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