Am I too late for IB?

Hi everyone! This is my first post on WSJ and I hope I can get your help. I come from a non-target school in Italy (top 10 public schools), where I have obtained my Master's degree in Corporate finance, and I am currently working in the Corporate Finance division of a Big-4. Prior than that, I have worked at GE as intern for around 8 months. My dream woulb be landing a job in IB at a bulge bracket bank. Now, I think that my biggest issues are the age (I am 26) and the thing that I don't come from a target school. To overcome that, I decided to apply for a one-year MiM (Lbs), to try to gain more international exposure, boost my network and hopefully get an interview. Unfortunately, I haven't receivced an answer yet . But, if I receive an offer from LBS, would you think that I could have a shot to land an interview for IB after the MiM or is it too late? My GPA is quite good (3.76 Bachelor's, 3.94 Master's), but I have finished my Bachelor's one year later. I had to stop due to illness. If I decide go for the MiM, I will finish when I'll be 27 (almost 28), and I don't know if, consider my previous experience, I am too late for IB or I can still make it.

Thank you for your answers and opinions.

5 Comments
 

You are on the tail end but definitely still possible to jump in. I would describe your experience as pretty average for people looking to break in so networking is also very important for you.

I am not familiar with MiM recruiting as I am with MBA. Traditional advice for someone like you would be to do the MBA and jump in at the Associate level.

 

Thank you very much for your answer. Although, to be fair, MiM programmes are pre-experience programmes. So, in my case, it would be for an analyst position.

 

Aut quae consequuntur magni error fugiat. Dignissimos eum error maxime veritatis sed qui. Vero sapiente impedit et architecto et ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”