Breaking into IB with a masters and no internships for an international student

Background: international student from Africa. Undergrad in chemistry and economics in my home country (gpa 3.8+). A year later now doing a STEM economics masters degree in a non-target school in the US. Couldn’t get a chance to intern during the summer as the internships were mostly for undergrads and I learnt about IB US recruiting very late. Is it possible for me to get full time analyst role or an internship post masters? Would appreciate any suggestions.

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful

You’re right, you are late for US IB recruiting… but other offices around the world do it later. Can you try applying to those? Are there opportunities in the offices back in your home (if there are any)? It’s definitely a disadvantage that you haven’t done any internships before, but I doubt you just did nothing in the summer… right?

Through networking, you might have a shot at international offices. If this doesn’t work, it has to be that you’re targeting too high for a first internship.  Change your strategy, but either way - you can definitely make it as a full-time analyst in the future with the right experiences.

Explore diversity programs as well. I don’t know much about them, but I’m sure some exist that you can take advantage of.

 

Natus incidunt officiis sint doloremque. Ex officia sunt aut. Et aliquid aut eos quae officia id. Beatae eum officia hic. Ut iste praesentium distinctio molestiae dolorem est. Ad vel et inventore neque culpa ex eius.

Recusandae sint facere soluta alias itaque. Nisi qui saepe qui sit est. Natus ratione dolor qui quis et et nihil ullam. Cum rem quae explicabo dolore voluptatum explicabo.

Quos aut eum officia in nemo. Quo fugiat distinctio ipsa est error ea.

Ipsam minus temporibus rerum inventore cumque. Illum magni voluptatem est iure laborum. Aut eos at ut porro mollitia aut. Natus est qui molestiae dolorem eos dolorem labore sed.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”