IB in London vs. NYC

Hello!

I am going to be a freshman at Brown University in the fall majoring in economics, after recent conversations with a close friend and my uncle who both work in IB, I am debating IB in London vs. NYC. I am planning on working in IB after college and was always just planning to go to NYC but our friend used to work in London and it sounds like I would enjoy the lifestyle over there more. But I have heard it can be very hard to get a job in London so I was wondering if that was true, and if it would be worth it to try to get a job in London over NYC?

Also would it be easier getting a job in London if I went to a British university, such as LSE, because that is what our family friend did before moving back to the US for business school. I was planning on studying abroad at LSE anyways but would transferring there be more prudent if I would like to work in IB in London? Or would applying with my degree from Brown still hold weight?

Also I forgot to mention I do speak English and Spanish and know some German, so I will be taking German in college to become fully fluent.

9 Comments
 
Most Helpful

NYC is easier. Path of least resistance would be recruit in NYC and ask to transfer to London office if you really wanted to move there

 

Agree with the ‘fit’ part and yeah in London getting the interview or in front of someone is much harder, but the interviews are relatively easier to get through. 
 

I don’t agree with the FT part though - this year only about 7-8 of the 30-35 reputable banks even opened in London - and the ones that did took almost no one at all (outside of Barclays capital markets) - overall I don’t know a single person personally (was at a target) who managed to get an FT without an IB summer

 

Disagree. On a pure numbers basis there are less spots and more people applying. Just go on linkedin and check out the alumni destinations for cambridge vs harvard

 

I do speak Spanish and some German so I will be taking German in college to get up to full fluency if that makes a difference. Since I know Spanish I am looking into learning Italian as well since I like learning languages

 

Ok thank you, that is actually so helpful, I was wondering if going to a U.S. uni would hinder me at all but that is all good to know, I will definitely keep up with my language skills then. I also did not know you could apply to both the London and NYC offices for some companies so that is also something I will keep in mind.
 

Are there certain languages that are more helpful to know? 

 

Iste qui ratione est quis quas. Minus et dolores mollitia sint odit deleniti. Nemo quia amet vero ut molestias. Ut sapiente et omnis error dolor.

Voluptatem error occaecati nulla libero eveniet ut. Magnam similique fugiat aut voluptatum quis rerum neque quo. Incidunt molestiae vero nobis qui voluptatem fugiat velit. Quibusdam fuga odio at consequuntur et doloribus consequatur. Quia labore aliquam aut et eos aut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”