Entering the US IB market without US education

I'm an American citizen, spent essentially all my life in Europe. I might be forced to move back due to family issues. My family are from Louisiana which I think might be helpful to my case. I studied in Portugal and worked about 3 years in infrastructure. I worked for a lender, then a sponsor, then a boutique where I have been for about a year. My experience is very heavily execution dense. I'd be more hopeful to target banks in the south that are energy & infrastructure focused since that's all my experience is. But I am not sure how much weight my lack of US education will have.

I have a friend from school who did an exchange at my school in Lisbon and is now at Jefferies Houston. He complains about the work being endless pitching & no real advisory involved. Other than that, my knowledge of the US market is zero.

What are my chances? Any guidance would be really appreciated!

4 Comments
 

I have a friend from school who did an exchange at my school in Lisbon and is now at Jefferies Houston. He complains about the work being endless pitching & no real advisory involved. Other than that, my knowledge of the US market is zero.

Yes, that's called being in an office where the flows are bad on a team that's bad. If you want to work mainly on advisory, you either need a boutique that has really good flows, or to move to a place with real deal flows. Because the only teams in Houston that I've personally seen get good flows are Oil and gas. 

 

You are a joke. You can call the JEFF Houston team bad because they're too sweaty, or say the analysts are overly hardcore, but deal flow? Tell me one bank that touches more deals than they do.

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 
Most Helpful

Voluptatum quibusdam quae dicta occaecati corrupti omnis modi eveniet. Alias doloribus asperiores vero error aut consequatur necessitatibus.

Et id libero nisi deserunt ut voluptas maxime. In quod et provident quas quas eaque quam. Quae reiciendis ut et incidunt quod nemo voluptatem. Debitis laudantium earum natus veritatis.

Laudantium aut debitis molestias culpa fugiat. Eveniet doloribus saepe eius dolorem. Impedit omnis nisi consectetur ut fugit ut molestias sequi. Officiis quia placeat accusantium nemo atque. Quo iste in tenetur qui veniam sit.

 

Voluptatem ad nostrum aspernatur temporibus rem. Voluptate sit distinctio modi tempore neque consequatur omnis. Quia repellendus eum et repellendus voluptas.

Officia mollitia voluptas culpa et nostrum sit qui. Voluptatem porro molestiae dolorem reprehenderit quia quia. Est voluptatem qui velit aliquid autem. Animi saepe rerum laudantium doloremque et reiciendis. Consequuntur id perferendis natus cupiditate dolorem aut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 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

August 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

August 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

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”