AN1 advice on getting ramped up, no finance background

I'm an AN1 in training right now and was wondering what all I can do in this period to prepare myself well. I have absolutely 0 finance background, but am going to a very modeling heavy group that's known for being very sweaty and very technical. What can I do during training to get ramped up? 

I was thinking of asking the group to send over a few old models so I can take a look through them, but is there anything else? Will that even be helpful? I have no clue on how to even make a model, do I need to ask for anything else along with the model in order for it to be useful for me?

P.S. I know everyone says to just have fun during training but I want to emphasize I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about finance. If you asked me to walk you through a DCF or $10 depreciation I would not be able to answer. 

14 Comments
 

memorized technical answers without understanding them. got interview through heavy networking & strong resume + target school + good gpa in engineering

 

If you made it this far with those stats youll definitely be fine. Im doing a stem degree (have done 0 finance coursework), and I was able to learn the technicals in a reasonable amount of time.  Just fully lock in for a week and you'll be good.

 

Good luck but my 2 cents would be go watch a few hours of youtube videos to understand the basics and try to learn the most basic fundamentals of accounting to save yourself from sounding like a complete moron. once again youtube is your best friend for this

 

I mean I was like 9th in my class out of 300 or so kids, 2 sport varsity athlete, member of a few national honor societies and student government, so it's not like i was sitting around smoking weed all day. Got wait listed at a few targets, but had no idea what a target school even was back then. I probably would have burned out in IB/PE and ended up in corp dev like i am now anyway, but god damn recruiting would have been so much easier. 

 

Genuine question, what made you choose to go so much into the deep end of a very technical group if you haven't studied the technicals? I understand going into a super technical product group like M&A (just going to assume you are in some sort of M&A or some kind of M&A like group for the sake of this answer) if you are a super technical person, but it doesn't make that much sense if not. Sure, you can say that at some banks M&A is the top group, but being a target and having a good GPA (assuming a good bank) means outcomes are not drastically different from an M&A group vs a coverage group of your choosing (that isn't as technical). Just seems like you are committing a lot to something you have no idea if you'll, at least if you had joined a coverage group, you wouldn't be going into as much of the deep end (things like pitches or company profiles are not particularly technical and are much easier to intuitively understand).

However, given your situation, yes would ask the group for help. Just frame it as an engineering kid without finance experience trying to catch up. If the group is as technical and sweaty as you suggested, they should be more than happy to give you the material. It's also helpful for them in the long run anyway. 

 

Ipsam et sed repudiandae aut. Est rerum ex ea sint qui. Autem quam voluptatem hic. Et commodi sed recusandae voluptate eaque ut.

Cumque et hic neque culpa ullam. Illo quibusdam sint est delectus. Eius reiciendis consequatur repudiandae nostrum odit cupiditate et. Maiores repellendus deserunt eius quaerat velit. Iure molestiae molestias enim consequuntur quas et eos. Voluptate voluptatem quibusdam excepturi magnam perspiciatis perspiciatis et quae. Autem aut ipsa animi voluptatem.

Officia libero ipsa doloremque nihil animi dolor possimus sapiente. Sed ex a aut et tempore. Animi minima sunt optio eum iure consequatur dolor. Accusamus incidunt iusto est officia qui nam unde.

Quia vel nobis aut enim autem at quidem. Et quasi minus libero fugiat tempora autem quo et. Nesciunt ut vel illum ea ea reprehenderit consequatur. Cum beatae voluptatum sunt assumenda aperiam. Qui quas consequuntur est assumenda et. Aperiam sed dolor aperiam asperiores.

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 01 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 (67) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”