Is it currently a waste of my time to try and get into IB??

I am interested in getting into IB but I am not sure if it is even remotely reasonable at the moment. I completed an undergraduate degree in philosophy and I am almost done with a Master of Science in Accounting (neither school is a target). My plan is to transfer into advisory/transactional services at the accounting firm I have an internship with to get some relevant experience and then break into IB.

My question for y'all is: would it be a waste of my time to start applying for IB positions right now and see if I can somehow get in anywhere before having the transactional services experience? This would include learning technicals/modeling, maybe taking the Bloomberg aptitude test, etc.

If this would be a waste of time currently, I will just focus on my current career path and do my best to get into transactional services first.

 
Most Helpful

The path from B4 TAS to IB is one well traveled. That sounds like your best bet given your background and timeline. Alternative is always to kill it at a B4, make manager in a relatively fast time frame, and get a good T15 MBA.

Array
 

Yeah that is my plan, I am not at a B4 though but maybe I will consider getting into one. In my city the B4 doesn't have that large of a presence, the firm I am at is actually much larger than all of the B4 here, so I am not sure which is better in this case.

But my real question is if I should even attempt to apply to analyst roles right now just to see if I can land a hail mary opportunity, or if this is completely out of the question and a waste of time?

 

Just apply my dude! You never know what opportunities might come. You can literally spend less than an hour a day doing so and in 2 weeks you could have a hundred applications sent. Unless you're already working 80 - 100 hours a week, you can definitely find the time in the day. And you could even find it if you were working that long.

I've had those moments too when I see an opportunity and think - ah, it's pointless, I have no chance, why even apply. But I applied, and I got in!

Plus, if your goal is to get into IB in the future it never hurts to start preparing and learning the concepts early on.

 

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