Is age a limiting factor for employment in my case?
Hi all. So as of late I've been rethinking my life choices. Have spent circa 4 years in a field completely unrelated to finance and banking. Mostly due to my parents. Currently 23 years old. Am firm in my belief that corporate banking or IB is what I need to do in life. I've read that IB folk are quite relentless when it comes to age. But the posts I've seen mostly talk about cases of people finishing their fin degrees at 23 and applying for IB or CB jobs at 25-28 with a couple of years of unrelated work experience after graduation. And so refusals are usually justified by maturity of such applicants. But what if I only start my financial degree at 23 with no prior exposure to finance, finish at 26-27 with a couple of internships and a solid network and then straightly apply for jobs with no lag in-between? Will I too be labeled as too mature for CB or IB just because of my age number?
I started in IB at 29, it's fine. I was a bit cautious during interviews though and did my best not to let my age show, at least when talking with anyone below VP. May or may not have been an issue but I had an Analyst tell me during an internship they felt weird telling me what to do because I was so much older than them.
Thank you for sharing this
What age did you rise to VP?
32. After my first year as an Analyst I essentially acted as an Associate (without the title) and when I was actually promoted to Associate I was only at that level for a year before VP.
There's a thread on this weekly and the takeaway every time is that 'no it doesn't matter until you start getting in your 30s at which point do an MBA and join as an associate'. There are literally associates in their mid 30s due to military or otherwise at almost every bank.
Yeah, sorry for raising this. I was more curious about the principle itself really. Finishing your undergrad degree at an acceptable age and then applying for jobs in the field with a time lag as opposed to just starting your degree later but then applying for jobs straight out of the uni. Any difference in how you'll be treated by employers? I guess not judging by your kind response
I know a 32 yo first year analyst at a bank. You’re fine.
A milf analyst eh. Noice.
MBA was invented for your situation. Sure they'll tell you it was invented for some holistic reason (learning to lead/manage, build a network, blah blah blah).
But in reality, the primary use case of the MBA is to get people a reset to move from the career they chose to the one they wish they'd chosen.
That's not to say you need an MBA. But at worst, you'd be the most typical MBA candidate, going in without a finance background and coming out with an associate IB job. So aged out? Not even close. Nowhere near.
Depending on your current role and background, you might try to get in at the analyst level after taking Training the Street or some similar course. That's a less certain path, but can't hurt to try. You're actually a couple years too young to realistically go for a top MBA so might as well take a few shots while you wait.
Hello. Thanks for the response. Do you come from a medical background by any chance? If so, how did you manage to pivot to finance. Would love to hear your story
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