Breaking into Investment Banking from MAcc

Long time lurker here.  I want to know how I can break into West Coast IBD.  I just recently got accepted into a top 5 MAcc program on scholarship and have an internship with a top mid tier accounting firm (think BDO/GT).  I graduated early with a 3.5+ in a social science from a non-target top 40 school.  I understand the traditional route would be to transition from Big 4 FDD, however, I believe that it might be possible to break into IBD immediately.  I broke into accounting as a social science major before being accepted into a graduate program, which gives me hope that my networking skills might be enough.  What next steps should I take?

1 Comments
 

Voluptatem dicta delectus eius sequi alias. Earum nihil veritatis excepturi quia occaecati non. Delectus sed consequatur ea sed dolores modi repellendus nulla. Cum temporibus et ut qui in perferendis.

Repudiandae sit quia et autem ut reiciendis. Blanditiis consequatur quo veritatis ad. Necessitatibus sed id et cumque qui. Qui eos quidem et nam. Et ea dolor non eos aut ipsum.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”