Army to IB
Hello all,
I’m active duty, have about 18 months left on my contract, and I’m looking to transition to a career in finance .
1. Should I pursue an analyst position at an ibank or start planning to get an MBA right out of the army?
2. Would it make sense to start networking and trying to learn the technical skills needed to land an internship/entry level position in finance now or just focus on studying for the gmat?
A bit of background :
75th Ranger Regiment (enlisted)
32 (got the itch to join later in life)
Liberal arts degree from a state school (u michigan, unc, ut austin) 2.9 gpa
No relevant work experience or coursework in finance
Thanks in advance for any guidance.
Best bet would be an MBA and then an associate role. I assume you're an officer if you've already done undergrad. BAML has a pretty good veteran program and so does Goldman if you want to explore that, but not sure how it's done recently. If you search the forums there's some good discussions on veteran friendly firms and programs. Your GPA is going to be a tough sell without doing some sort of grad school though. Hope this helps.
He’s not an officer.. enlisted...anyways but you should def go get your MBA. I served and it helped me TONS. Networking is easier being a vet as more people were willing to give me some time and even landing interviews. I got a few just because they saw I was a vet and wanted to give me a shot
This is true. The standards are lower for veterans trying to break in.
I made the transition from enlisted to getting an internship in IB. I’d say that if you have any desire to work in PE, get a Masters in Finance and recruit for analyst roles. If you get your MBA, you’ll be recruiting for associate roles and trying to recruit for PE when you are higher on the totem becomes really hard from what I’ve heard. If you couldn’t care less about PE then MBA is the way to go.
Not, OP but you bring up an interesting point I'd like to inquire more about. I'm leaving IB for a fighter pilot slot in the reserves after I've done my 2 year analyst stint. For someone like me who has IB experience (MM TMT) would PE be possible right after B-school? Would I be able to recruit for PE or rejoin IB without going to B-school because I have the experience? It would be at least a 4-5 year gap for me to complete training and seasoning for me to become a reservist so that time away wouldn't be on my side for sure...but maybe I could sell it to a vet at a larger bank/company who has flexibility when it comes to my reserve duties.
I was in 3/75 (enlisted), and I’m currently a first-year MBA, who recruited for IB. I think going directly to b-school makes a lot of sense, especially with your background. Let me know if you’d like to hop on a call. I’ve got unlimited free time over the next several weeks, and I’d be happy to help.
PM’d you
I agree with Milton, b-school makes a ton of sense for you. A mix of studying for GMAT, networking and technicals in a distant third place would serve you well. You should be ready to start interviewing in the fall of your first year.
Being SF will open a lot of doors for you. Talked with many folks who were former themselves and would value the experience.
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