ADVICE - NYC Boutiques

Fellow Monkeys,

I have been mulling over a couple different plans in my effort to break into the world of high finance, and am looking for advice from those that have come before me. My end goal is to land a FT IB analyst role at a boutique in NYC. Here's my situation:

-Graduated 3 years ago with an Econ degree from a complete non-target, no internships, and a 2.9 GPA. Landed an entry level role at a large insurance brokerage (think Marsh, Willis, AON). Have since been promoted and manage 3-4 people. - Moved to greater NY area 3 months ago, and kept my insurance brokerage job from my previous location. I now work 100% remotely and earn enough to support a decent lifestyle (in my mind) in an expensive suburban town, with an easy commute to NYC. -For the last few months I have been working on my modeling skills and reading daily about IB and the world of finance.

Two paths I am considering to reach my goal: 1. Keep doing what I am doing. -Pros: freedom to do more networking, more time to work on my hard skills, keeping the job shows I am not hopping around -Cons: unrelated industry, may have to keep doing this for a long time before something I want materializes, working at home is nice but I am not meeting many people in a new city.

  1. Get a job more closely related to IB in NYC (credit analyst, back office role at an IB, retail banking), do this for a year and then try to make the move. -Pros: more relevant experience, opportunity to gain more contacts and insight into IB (I think), meet more people in general (not just industry) in a new city. -Cons: less free time for networking and studying, still will take a while to get the role I want, costs for commuting and a dog walker.

Please tell me where I am wrong or unrealistic, ask any clarifying questions and if you can, provide some guidance on the best approach to reaching my end goal. I haven't thought much about an MBA but if that seems the only possible route, please let me know.

1 Comments
 

Id dolorem ducimus molestias voluptatibus rerum. Voluptatem fugiat magnam error et voluptatem sapiente omnis. Sed maxime non vel error. Autem consequuntur nihil voluptas modi ea numquam. Occaecati sequi fugiat eum error.

Accusantium maxime alias iste reiciendis. Maiores dolor culpa doloribus aut dicta. Culpa similique laboriosam et. Amet quasi omnis in. Numquam eaque dolorem dignissimos. Voluptatibus culpa ut velit excepturi nemo. Aut perferendis qui reprehenderit et repudiandae veritatis amet.

Rerum illo quibusdam quam accusamus nostrum deleniti. Pariatur non ut et eos similique impedit qui sit. Sunt culpa et aut ratione eligendi.

Nam deserunt ad dignissimos qui qui consequatur earum. Dicta suscipit at fuga ut velit commodi beatae. Eum aliquam molestias inventore quisquam. Praesentium nihil illo autem repudiandae temporibus sit ut.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (68) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”