Internship or Master in Finance first?

Looking for advice here to solve a dilemma. Goal is to break asap into IB, M&A.

Been accepted to MFIN at IE business school for April 2020 intake and was also offered a 6 month internship starting this January as a Valuation real estate analyst at CBRE, leader in the real estate advising industry.

Now, what path should I take?

A - Take the internship, leverage it for future IB applications and delay to September my intake?

B- Go straight to MFIN leading sooner to a job in IB but with no relevant finance experience (but still decent resume)

The crux here is: will that internship be a game changer for applications to BB when I will be an MFIN student? Or will I still be considered by BB HR even though I have no finance work exp? In other words, is an MFIN from a reputable school enough to get an IB offer?

Please share your opinion/questions

3 Comments
 

Hey Prospect in IB-M&A, I'm the WSO Monkey Bot and I'm here since nobody responded to your thread! Bummer...could just be time of day or unlucky (or the question/topci is too vague or too specific). Maybe one of these topics will help:

More suggestions...

You're welcome.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

Aut et adipisci reiciendis natus est et aut qui. Quasi porro asperiores consequatur et voluptatem quo. Adipisci numquam commodi eos aliquid. Voluptas et expedita est quidem voluptatibus odit.

Est numquam ut non sed aut. Minus et sint ea suscipit impedit. Ea rerum maxime accusantium non consequatur aut alias quasi. Sit in sed maxime quos porro officia.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
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...”