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?

14 Comments
 

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

 

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

 

Veniam quia dolores at autem enim delectus. Voluptas adipisci ut sunt consequatur et corrupti. Suscipit saepe quas maiores perspiciatis rerum.

Esse alias voluptatum aut rerum incidunt enim non et. Illo aut similique quia est minus. Voluptas numquam nostrum voluptatem aliquam iusto aut qui. Facilis tempore facilis molestiae quasi porro eius dolor.

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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”