Career Guidance

I feel like I’m completely indecisive with what I want to do moving forward and my path: 

My background: 

  • Graduated from a state school about a year ago with an accounting degree.
  • GPA was relatively subpar at 3.43
  • Have experience in corporate finance and working in FDD
  • Participated in many extracurriculars at school.
  • Started out in MM FDD
  • Studied for a test on the CPA but just cancelled but I was so behind on studying
  • Been dealing with a debilitating zyn problem to mask my ADHD. 

    At the end of the day, I really want to end up working in PE and I know it could be possibly through a stint in IB, but I’m worried about my GPA not being good enough to get through the door, the incoming recession and whether or not I should even get the CPA since it isn’t even relevant. But on the flip side, if I don’t break in there’s a chance that the CPA might be useful for Corp Fin. 
    If anyone can give me insight into their path, it would be greatly appreciated. 

     
1 Comments
 

Ut nulla sequi assumenda nihil voluptas. Est cumque ab nulla eveniet et debitis. Qui eaque soluta qui asperiores sunt nemo qui. Perferendis optio qui ut aut mollitia.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”