Critique me and tell me how to best get into finance given my circumstances

Hi guys, I am new here, and kind of green to finance and IB in general so please be easy on me. Anyways I graduated in May with degree in biology (pre-med focus) and finished with 3.83 GPA. I grew up dirt poor, raised by single mom, and thus went to my state school for free on merit and need based scholarships. Big school on east coast for reference. Since May I have been working in hospital doing clinical research and getting exposure to what docs actually do and have affirmed I could never do this. Docs getting degraded by patients, docs miserable about future outlook, have seen patient throw piss at doctor list goes on.

So this leaves me with a 4 year degree I cant really use, and a good MCAT score that I cant use. I have interest in business, but have no experience. I at least did some research at NE Ivy and have great LOR from PhD there, tons of ec's but none focused on business. What path would you guys advise for a person like me to break into finance? I am losing my mind at my current job and this got me looking for programs that begin soon and could kind of hash me into business. I came across a program at Northeastern University in Boston where you earn a masters in accounting and MBA in 15 months, and there is 100% job placement upon graduation at a big 4 firm. I.e. PwC, Deloitte etc. I figure accounting would be good for me because it will give me some ground work for business since I have none, and accounting after all is the base of finance right? I have been told one can learn accounting and go into finance readily, not so much the other way around. But maybe this is BS. I guess is it possible to work a few years at a big 4, grab my CPA, make senior and then try to get into finance? Or is this a terrible idea? I like the northeastern program because it begins this May and I would be done in August working at a big 4 firm, and more key it would get me out of my job now that I want to off myself at.

My reserves about this program are that its northeastern. This isn't a prestigious school, and I feel like the MBA you get with the masters in accounting is useless. It is more the accounting that has any utility. A CPA is a CPA after all right? I don't want to miss the boat on a potential prestigious MBA down the road cause I already grabbed one with this program. So guys with an MBA, masters in accounting, CPA, and a few years of experience at a big 4 audit how difficult is transition to something lucrative in finance? Do you guys think this is bad idea? I guess what I want to know is if you were me (kid fresh out of state U, pre-med, high gpa, good ec's) wanting to break into finance how would you do it? I realize my state U degree kind of shafts me for high end finance, so where do I go from here? Get an MBA? Try the backdoor route I mentioned? AlsoI just think my personality goes more with business as well, I am more of a bro so to speak, like sports, am outgoing, friendly, not a geek like most science people, lift, like to bust balls etc. Also it doesn't matter cause I hate the clinical aspect of being a doctor. I appreciate you guys reading the wall of text, and input you may have.

0 Comments

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%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 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 (79) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”