How easy (or hard) is it to get an associate position in a BB bank with no experience as an analyst? I'm thinking I may have to start out in corporate finance or commercial banking (probably this) and then go into Ibanking after doing a MBA.
| +298 | UBS Tech MD hires Son (from no-name college) as an Intern | 51 | 8h |
| +103 | The Intern Starter Pack | 20 | 8h |
| +77 | [Official] 2026 IB Analyst Bonus Megathread (with 2025 Consolidated Pay and Perks/Benefits) | 11 | 1d |
| +55 | Perella Weinberg to Cut 10% of Workforce, Including Partners | 35 | 1d |
| +46 | Are all Tech / TMT groups sweaty? | 25 | 17m |
| +40 | UBS Groups Ranked by Future Outlook | 20 | 3d |
| +39 | Is DCM actually underrated ? | 15 | 3h |
| +33 | PWP Layoffs????? | 18 | 5d |
| +32 | UVA McIntire vs Cornell Dyson for IB | 19 | 1d |
| +29 | Are search funds just wage-c**k factories? | 11 | 18h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Its not difficult at all assuming you attend a top tier b-school, although this may not be the case under current market conditions. Bottom line, banking experience pre-MBA is not a pre-req for gaining employment as an associate at a BB post-MBA.
In the upswing of the market, it was very rare to find MBAs who had banking experience coming into the market to do banking. That is, for the past 2-3 years those with banking experience and an MBA did more lucrative things. I knew only one person hired directly out of an MBA program (not to be confused with merely people with MBAs) who had prior banking experience. I knew MBAs with military, commercial banking, corp dev, engineering, and all sorts of other random backgrounds.
This is obviously changing in the current environment, but by time you would be entering the market should have recovered mostly.
Does the same general rule apply to a one-year MBA? For instance I wanted to go to Ivey (University of Western Ontario) for an MBA. It is considered the top Canadian school, but I'm concerned that without the value of a summer internship, I will not be able to enter into IBD as an associate(I have no previous IBD experience).
I understand it will be more difficult going to a BB rather than a Canadian big bank, but I'd like to hear opinions on both please.
You need to be able to do a summer internship if you don't have a banking background. Does Ivey have classes in the summer? Do BBs target Ivey? I don't know.
It will be easier to get an Associate position in New York by attending a top US MBA. For London, you want the top US MBA or a top Euro MBA (LBS, IESE, INSEAD). INSEAD is one year, but you can time it so that you can do an internship, if you want to.
Sit eveniet voluptate aut in quod sint. Atque quasi impedit quo vero veritatis aut impedit. Tempore in incidunt libero eius eaque. Delectus quia maiores minima minima.
Hic saepe iure dolore est et delectus sed. Dolorum expedita corrupti et at dolor libero non. Autem quia rerum consectetur eius minus reiciendis. Ratione et dignissimos consequatur ut sed.
Delectus temporibus et sunt qui pariatur. Nam beatae commodi dolores occaecati molestiae eum est dolor. Consectetur est eveniet sapiente a rerum aperiam et.
Ea porro rerum impedit nihil. Sunt dolorem at sunt repellendus.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...