Is it a good idea to move to Romania to get IB experience?

Hey gang. I was born in America, but my parents immigrated from Romania back in 1996. I speak fluent English and pretty good Romanian.

My plan is to finish my BS in finance. Then to fly to Bucharest and land my first IB job. I'll do it for 2 years, then I'll move back to America and leverage my experience to get a job at a Hedge Fund.

I think I'll especially stand out because it's quite random to have work experience in Romania.

For now, I'm eyeing "European Investment Bank" in Bucharest.

Smart idea or what? Does anyone here have experience with IB in Romania? And how did it compare to IB in America for those who did both?

16 Comments
 

You have an American citizenship right? If you have it, I don't know why you would go back to your local country unless for personal reasons. If you personally like the country, just join a BB, climb to the top, and then transfer / set up an office there. I'm sure it is very hard to break in back to America as the deal experience will be very shallow compared to that of the US.

 

Sounds very risky, but the amount of risk you can take on also depends on your undergrad pedigree and how far that can take you in the future. Where are you doing your degree?

 

No, it is absolutely not a good idea. If your goal is to work at a HF in the US, why the hell would they care for experience working at a quasi-government institution like EIB making loans to finance roads or water treatment plants in Eastern Europe?? If you wanted to work for the IFC or eventually Project Finance at a real bank, then maybe this would work. But EIB would not be considered IB experience and Eastern Europe is probably one of the most irrelevant markets for a finance career. Absolutely would not be a route to a hedge fund at all. Also consider the fact that professional salaries in a country like Romania would probably be in the ballpark of $10-30k/yr.

 

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