Irish Uni->IB London. Structural disadvantage?
I’m an incoming Irish student planning to attend University College Cork (UCC in Ireland) with the long-term objective of breaking into investment banking in London.
Academically, I’ve consistently performed at a high level. I’m also prepared to be highly intentional from year one in terms of internships, applications, and networking.
The key constraint is financial. Attending a UK semi-target/target (or even studying in Dublin) isn’t realistically viable, so UCC represents the optimal decision from a cost/return standpoint at this stage.
Given that constraint, I’m trying to approach this from a probability and optimisation perspective rather than an idealised one.
What do I actually need to do from UCC to break into IB in London? Do you regularly see Irish candidates making it into IB, or is it more of an exception?And what are the most common routes or pivots people take from a non-target like UCC?
Appreciate any direct perspectives.
have seen it happen.. in many cases, have been guys go the big 4 accounting route (ACA qualification) and then pivot from there - this may be a function of GFC job market prospects ~15 years ago. Assuming you can get a 1st, or at least a strong 2.1 that path should be a solid downside case regardless of the economic environment/job market.
If you're intentional from day 1 and as thoughtful as you sound, you should be able to land something in London over time. Just prepare for lots of No's and lazy responses like "go get a masters"
Can’t comment on the rest of this, but 2.1 is not sufficient. c.35% of all graduates get 1.1s days, and only 0.1% (or whatever) land high finance.
Yes I’m aware that there are variances in end results across universities, and that you can’t necessarily treat high finance graduates as a subset of all 1.1 graduates, but I hope my point is clear.
my 2.1 comment was for the big 4 "downside case". agreed on all fronts..35% is a staggering percentage wow
Take a quick look on LinkedIn... there are plenty of UCC alumni in London. All from the BSc Finance though, so I hope you're doing that.
Other than that, apply for spring weeks in your first and second year. Also do the placement internship as part of the course. That'll make a huge difference for applications
Finance is my first choice, with Applied Economics as a backup, so should be aligned with that.
I’ve had a look on LinkedIn and seen a decent number of UCC grads in London, which is reassuring. Is the Big 4 to IB path generally the most common route, or do people break in directly as well?
No lots of people break in directly through the summer --> full-time role pipeline too.
probably most common given each firm hires hundreds of business grads, whereas the banks might only hire a handful of irish kids directly from undergrad each year. big 4 is just another funnel to de-risk the banks from making a bad hire. "ok this guy/gal knows accounting, can work hard for crap pay, and exist in a corporate client environment"
As everyone says, it’s highly competitive but the key is to (i) start early, apply to all the spring weeks and put in the shift early while the rest of your mates are just outright enjoying college (you can do both!). Most importantly (ii) leverage the Irish network. It’s very strong in London. This is absolutely critical/significantly improves your odds. Focus on UCC alumni first and then try TCD/UCD.
Assuming your grades are strong (can say 1.1 degree grade expected), you polish your CV to the nth degree and prepare appropriately for the interviews/tests, you stand a good chance. In terms of prep, there will be plenty of folk in the finance society on the same boat. Socialise with them. Leverage preparation materials passed down through the years. Seek mentors from older students in the society.
Coming from UCC is not a problem if you nail all of the above. It’s a matter of desire / applying yourself diligently.
That’s really helpful, appreciate the detail. The point on leveraging the Irish network is interesting. I hadn’t fully considered how strong that could be in London.
On that, would you recommend reaching out to alumni as early as first year, or building up some experience first before networking more seriously?
It never hurts to start networking - the earlier the better. Just make sure you know your stuff a bit and are not clueless in the conversation. You don’t need to have experience to do that - the conversations should help you build that understanding over time to begin with
And definitely reach out to all the Irish, especially the ones that studied at your uni. Not all conversations lead somewhere but once in a while you will meet somebody that is willing to proactively help you and will have an impact on your trajectory. I myself had some help, and have helped when I had the chance. Some of the people that then became my interns just reached out to me for a conversation and I plugged them in when the time was right (if they seemed smart enough)
People from your native country are more naturally inclined to reply to you (I am European and went through something similar)
Original commenter here.
Agree with the other comment. Earlier the better as long as you have some relevant questions / show interest when you speak to the bankers but don’t try to learn every thing before you start / they won’t expect that of you. Irish people typically look after each other.
Btw I went to a Dublin university and direct to top BB IBD out of undergrad and can confirm it’s very doable / your odds significantly increase the more effort you put in. And btw, worst case you don’t land a spring, try for the summer, don’t get a summer, apply for a London masters then apply for a summer, don’t get it after that, apply to consulting/corporate finance/TS roles. Each time you’ll be more prepared and eventually the luck will sway in your favour. There is huge churn in IB over the years. I got in early but that’s not necessarily going to lead you to the most optimal career - there are so many more variables at play here. People burn out. People peak at different times. Just put your best foot forward/hustle for it.
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