Chances of breaking into IB in Sydney without PR
Hi guys, I am in a bit of a dilemma here and would really appreciate some advice. I am an international student who has been studying in Sydney since high school. I just graduated from UNSW with an honours degree in Finance a few weeks ago. The WAM for my honours is 91.6 (First-class) and for my three-year degree is 76 (Distinction). I’ve been working in Audit at PwC in Sydney for a few weeks now, but I also have an offer from Imperial College for their MSc Investment and Wealth Management programme. I have done 2 audit internships (Both in Sydney and China) and 1 IBD internship in China. My goal is to ultimately settle in Sydney for finance-related jobs (IBD, PE, Fund management etc).
I see myself having two options currently, which I can’t really decide on:
1. Stay in PwC for three years, get permanent residency and then lateral my way into IB in Sydney (will also try to look for other opportunities that provide sponsorship)
2. Go to Imperial and try to break into IBD in London, become an associate and then transfer back to Sydney.
I have been thinking about these two options for weeks and would really appreciate any advice. Many thanks in advance!
HRs are not allowed to discriminate based on immigration status. If you have a work permit, even a temporary one, you should be fine
Thank you for your reply. When I was trying my luck with SA in 2020, many firms emailed me asking about my visa status before going quiet on me. Even at information sessions, Morgan Stanley said they will only consider ppl with pr or citizenship. Do they require citizenship or pr for more senior level bankers?
Wow that’s so progressive lol that would never happen in America
They usually never sponsor grad but will do so at higher levels. There’s also a special visa now that fast tracks PR for finance professionals making over 150k.
My advice would be to transfer to a big 4 m&a/Vals team or a smaller boutique and work your way up from there. It’s a lot easier to lateral into IB from a non traditional background because they don’t have the MBA associate programs.
Thanks for your advice! I will definitely do this if I decide to stay and not go to Imperial. My only concern is that this will take at least 4-5 years and the Imperial route might allow me to break into IB sooner?
No I don't think it should take you 4-5 years. If you start studying (BIWS guide or similar) and applying for IB / M&A / Deals related jobs now, I think it should take you 2-3 years max. Depending on how well you play it you might get credit for some of your experience i.e. starting from an analyst 2 instead of an analyst 1. And as I mentioned lateralling is a lot easier than starting from fresh grad. Most analysts leave after 2 years and to replace them I have seen BBIBs hire people from law, big 4 deals, big 4 banks and even treasury teams.
do you happen to know what this visa is? i've been looking for it online, but can't find it ):
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