14 Comments
 

Thanks man! This is why I joined this form, this reply right here...

BTW I thought everyone with no experience starts out as an analyst, even those with an MBA, no?

 

MBA's traditionally start out as first year Associates. I would guess the only scenario where an MBA would start as an analyst was if they went into a low-tier MBA program right after undergrad with 0 work experience. You definitely won't have that issue with a Berkeley MBA.

Also something to note (which I don't personally know), but I think there may be a perceived difference between the full-time MBA being more prestigious than the part-time MBA at Berkley. I could be wrong, though. You may want to contact alumni who did the part-time program and see if they have any input on that topic.

 

Agreed. I work in the bay area, and at least in my experience in finance, UC Berkeley MBAs far outnumber Stanford MBAs. I've only run into one Stanford MBA in finance here. The caveat is that I don't work in IB, so YMMV.

"There's nothing you can do if you're too scared to try." - Nickel Creek
 
Best Response

Get an interview guide. WSO and BIWS both make good ones. Then get the Rosenbaum investment banking book from Amazon. You can get an older version of that book to save money.

That should set you up with some industry knowledge. Then, start networking. I would highly, highly suggest spending a few hours searching through WSO, paying close attention to the Hall of Fame threads here. There is a lot of helpful information here. Good luck.

 

If you want to do M&A go for it, but in re to you "Master Plan", M&A is not going to help. I don't see how you need M&A experience to help companies merge supply chains. M&A will only give you transactional experience and with have nothing to do with operations after the company mergers.

I would look into supply chain consulting and / or corp development for a large MNC that historically does a lot of M&A. All the big consulting firms have supply chain consulting where they consult companies after mergers to optimize their supply chain. This will give you the best experience to open up your own supply chain company.

 

Thanks for your input guys!

Glad to hear the Haas produces a lot of Investment Bankers.

jankynoname So an internship is a must basically? I'll do whatever I have to do.

@modestlocke9" Thanks for your input, I had consulting in the back of my mind as well, but I do I currently work at a company that buys up a lot of other companies and I am helping them merge their SC's. M&A will help me transactionally, but I think it will also help me understand the finance involved in merging supply chains (and companies in general). I should also be able to build up a huge book of contacts which I'll need when I start the company. ...But besides all that, it seems super interesting in and of itself. :)

Sil I'll definitely read that book, have you ever read Monkey Business? Its a great read.

 

Stop, stop, stop. Most of the other commentators here have completely missed the mark, and as "students" or "first year analysts," it is no wonder. You should go into consulting at an MBB or a Big 4 accounting firm. That will be much more complementary to your supply chain aspirations. I did 5 years of consulting before business school and now banking after an MBA. So that I am crystal clear: There is absolutely nothing at all as a banker that you will do that will add knowledge or experience to anything even remotely tangential to supply chain analysis in any fashion. These companies hire MBB or a Big 4 accounting firm to do their M&A integration. A banking associate puts in working capital items in the model, maybe a few lines for cost synergies, and verifies the numbers on the back of the consultants' reports. You can learn that in a day. There are many interesting aspects to a banking Associate work but anything approaching rigorous supply chain analysis is not one of them.

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

Best response in the thread. Banking does not make sense for the stated long term goal. MBB or a big 4 group's supply chain practice does. Hell....I'd even look at Amazon and WalMart. Companies like that are a great 'pedigree' for supply chain and will grant you a lot of credibility as an independent operator.

 

Ea eum nam nulla sit possimus nostrum doloremque. Quas non minus unde modi. Consectetur illo ratione ipsa consequatur architecto. Officia qui corrupti voluptatem aut odio porro consectetur.

Velit aut odio cumque ea. Ut minus numquam sed iste cupiditate aperiam eum. Praesentium reiciendis assumenda facilis qui saepe quia necessitatibus. Quasi autem distinctio earum. Id et ea qui nostrum aliquid veritatis. Debitis voluptate nulla non odit mollitia qui cupiditate.

Ex quos qui veniam quos minima corrupti. Cumque nulla aut rerum. Aliquid eveniet dolorum tempora rerum eveniet et blanditiis. In qui vero sint velit id est nobis. Itaque consequuntur omnis odit ut facilis omnis.

A delectus aut est fugiat occaecati. Autem ut est cupiditate dolor magnam quasi ratione. Et nisi non quia velit delectus eos eaque et. Et sunt cupiditate nobis doloremque.

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 (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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”