Master of Finance for IB recruiting
Hi everyone,
I am currently a junior at a european college, and after spending a semester at a college in the US, I’ve started thinking about beginning my career in the US.
Since it’s not straightforward to just apply to jobs in the US, I’ve been considering several Master of Finance (MoF) programs. This idea came up after meeting some people who completed such programs at my US college that were also from Europe, and then started working at different banks in NYC.
My question is: does a Master of Finance program give me a decent shot at recruiting in the US, or did I just meet a few people who got lucky with recruiting?
Thanks in advance!
TL;DR: Is a Master of Finance worth it to recruit for IB in the US as a European, or is it a waste of money?
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some insights regarding pursuing a Master of Finance (MoF) for IB recruiting in the US as a European:
Value of a Master of Finance (MoF):
Recruiting in the US:
Success Stories:
Alternative Strategies:
Visa Considerations:
In summary, while a Master of Finance can enhance your prospects for IB recruiting in the US, it's not a guaranteed path and involves significant considerations, including visa challenges and the competitive nature of the job market. If you already have an IB offer, it might be more prudent to gain experience and explore lateral opportunities later.
Sources: European Master in Finance programmes (pre-experience), MSc Finance: Is it Worth it?, European Masters for US Students, What can I do with a master in finance?, is it even worth it for international students anymore?
Worked for me lol. Didn’t decide to do IB till senior year so opted to rerecruit as an MSF student and landed an offer. It’s doable, but whether it’s worth it or not depends on the tuition package you get I guess.
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Hey I'm in a similar boat and I noticed that banks say they only accept undergrads in the JD, so do masters actually get past the screen if you network and stuff? thx so much
From my experience, it depends. The bank I applied to had an application that stated it was for juniors in undergrad, but I applied anyways and reached out to HR to let them know I was interested. I think applying regardless of what the application says won't hurt. I wouldn't be afraid to send emails to HR either, as long as they're formatted and what not since that's essentially a second application with a resume and cover letter in itself.
Which msf did you do?
Don't really wanna say but It's a non/lower-semi - target in the greater Boston area. It's doable if you make a good story for yourself and apply your ass off, literally everywhere. Go to wall street connector and go to their list of IBs and apply to all of them. They even have a newsletter you can sign up for for free that sends out a list of ib career sites every week. Send emails if you have to, I got replies from banks even nearing the end of summer recruiting. The ops are there you just can't leave any stone unturned.
if you go to one of the top ones, there's a chance of breaking into investment banking, but otherwise it's limited. also, if you need visa sponsorship, you will have way fewer opportunities.
usually master in finance in the us is for people who needed a target school name on their resume or extra time to apply for more internships/jobs. so the people who do good in those programs already had strong idea of all work they needed to do to get their ideal role.
It's mainly MIT MSF where banks are willing to sponsor visas for international candidates since they get lot of attention from BB banks. Princeton is good but more like an MFE and needs strong work experience. Vanderbilt is mainly MM/Boutique banks and they don't sponsor visa. Georgetown places into IB but it does not admit international students. USC places into IB also but it's mainly USC undergraduates or other domestic students who get IB roles.
UChicago is a cash cow.
UT Austin, IU Kelley, Notre Dame, Villanova, SMU mainly place into corporate finance.
so, unless you get MIT, it's a no for coming to the US. you'd be better doing an MiF in europe.
uchicago is a brand new program (they started last year). it's absolutely baseless to say they are a cash cow program when Booth is incredibly well regarded. their entering class has better stats than any other program including mit and Princeton
(i don't go to UChicago nor have i applied, so no horse in the race but just had to respond to the dumb statement)
class profile doesn't mean anything. it's 80% international. they're going to get low quality jobs due to current visa restrictions. search up students on linkedin. almost all of them have nothing lined up for summer internships.
if uchicago cared about career outcmes, they wouldn't have enrolled an 80% international class, which itself is a huge signal of being a cash cow program. also, gre scores are heavily inflated among international students due to rampant cheating allowed on gre in china/india, unlike gmat. which is why gre is reported by 89% of students and not gmat on class profile. and im not going to talk about gpa, we've had covid gpa inflation and it's very school dependent.
only 20 americans enrolled in uchicago's program out of the 120 people in their class. they couldn't get more domestic students to enroll? for comparison, 200 joined georgetown's program, they don't admit international. sure, some of them are doing part time with their jobs, but you still have around 120 full time pre-experience students in georgetown.
i attended the uchicago info session. outside of one elite boutique, the other placements mentioned were mediocre. hsbc hong kong? seriously. they didn't even talk about career services. booth brand is good but current booth mba students hate the booth mim and mif students for taking spots in courses and have been slandering them online so i don't think the booth/uchicago alumni who are aware of the program view it positively.
i doubt their career services and outcomes comes close to vanderbilt, mit, princeton, georgetown. georgetown msf isn't most selective but look at the resources, outside of gtown alumni and msf program and mcdonough network, they have a fair amount of residencies and summer/winter clinics to help boost resumes (and the program format makes it very easy to intern on the side during the semester). georgetown msf also has many alumni in MM/lower BB IB and many in corporate finance, consulting, and the people in WM are at the top places. and princeton, vanderbily, mit msf are very much a solid tier above in career outcomes.
i think all american ms finance programs are cash cows to a certain extent. but i don't think uchicago has anything going for it to stand out against mit, vanderbilt, princeton and georgetown.
Worked for me. And I’m non target
please can i pm
Sure
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