harvard/ivy engineering masters/PHD -> BB/EB analyst
Hi all,
i'm currently at a non target, but i did research with an engineering professor at harvard this summer, and he said that he is heavily pushing my name to ad coms for a phd (I can drop out with a masters after 2 years), so i can pursue a masters/phd at harvard after my senior year(this year). I have a 3.9 gpa in EE, a >75% GRE score for Stanford, and I have extensive research experience so I am confident I will get in (if not to harvard, I'll probably get in somewhere like columbia, penn, mit, michigan, princeton). Is it possible to use the same recruiting that undergrads have to get summer analyst/full time analyst jobs at top BBs and EBs? I like studying engineering, but I really don't want to do a job in tech or get stuck in the hell hole that is academia, and I find banking and the exit opportunities it entails to be very interesting. My job experience so far is 2 swe internships, 1 at a respectable F100 and the other at FAANG.
Will the masters help me get into top analyst programs, is it worth it(it'll be free for me but i'll be giving up 2 years of ~200k salary), and are there any other schools you would recommend?
Hard to get analyst roles as a masters student. Maybe associate role but typically they go to MBAs.
I'd try to recruit for analyst because I have 0 business or finance experience. can i use the undergrad OCR or is it separated for grad students?
Damn bro, if you like engineering why not work in engineering though? What makes you think you will like finance? What about quant/trading type shit
I like studying engineering and learning, but not actually doing it. Quant/trading stuff is extremely limiting and would pigeonhole me into one thing. Banking allows me to pursue multiple different fields after the experience. I can still go into quant/trading after 2 years in a top banking program.
It's going to be a little tough to do quant after IB. It's a very big pivot and would require quite a story, possibly overcoming negative views of banking by quant firms (why would they want a banker?).
You'd just be delaying making a decision for 2 years. I would try to figure out what you actually want to do and why you think you need banking to get there, because you prob dont
bump
MBB routinely hired academics and PhD's but I don't think its very common in banking.
The issue with going to Harvard PHD is it 1) confirms your interest in engineering (fine to have that as a major and pivot to finance sophomore year or so, but if you chose to go to an expensive PHD, wanting to then switch to finance is going to be heavily questioned) and 2) you won't have access to Harvard undergrad or HBS recruiting. The Harvard name will always get you in doors, but Michigan/Columbia less so.
Unless you could get 1-2 finance internships and somehow focus on finance or econ related engineering, this path is not worth it. You're better off going for a top Masters in finance which is only one year, think MIT/Princeton/Columbia - they have legit recruiting
Idk man it seems like you're choosing a very difficult/long path if your goal is IB. Your stats are solid so try for an MSF program like Vandy.
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