Masters in Europe
For context, I’m from Brazil and I work at a very large Latin American company in the M&A and Corporate Development division. We have completed some acquisitions, and I’m very interested in moving into Investment Banking. However, I’m not interested in working in Brazil and would strongly prefer to work in Europe.
With this in mind, I’m targeting Master’s programs in Europe and would like to understand more about the different countries and cities there. My main targets would be Zurich, Germany, the Nordics, or even Spain, with London not being my first option. I’ve read that outside of London, candidates usually need to be fluent in both English and the local language, although some exceptions may apply, particularly related to diverse candidates (e.g., for women).
My question is: how realistic would it be for someone with my background to break into Investment Banking in any of these countries after graduating from a strong Master’s program? I’m a brown Latino male, so I’m not sure whether diversity considerations would apply to me. I speak fluent English and Portuguese, have an intermediate level of Spanish, and my German is very rusty. It was much better when I was younger, but even then I wouldn’t have been able to hold a professional level conversation in German.
Is it possible to secure a job after completing a Master’s degree without being fluent in the local language and then learn the language and become proficient later on? Especially in Zurich or the Nordics
Zurich is basically impossible for non-EU for both the language and visa reason.
I forgot to mention but I have EU citizenship (Portuguese). And as I said, my German is rusty but I believe I can manage to get good at it in 1 or 2 years since I have studied before
Long story short :
Master you should target :
-LSE
-LBS
-HEC
-HSG
-Bocconi
-ESCP
-ESSEC
Place you can work in :
-London
-Zurich no unless you are a female, or speaks German/Swiss German, French (less relevant in Zurich vs Geneva)
-Maybe Germany (if BB + German skills + woman)
-Madrid maybe
-Paris maybe
-Milan no (no salary anyway)
Being female isn't an instant boost like speaking German is.
I was asked to do docs in French and speak to clients when I interned in zurich so it can be very useful to stand out.
Essec mif is not a core target for london or dach, I'd remove it.
Germany can work without German language to an extent (hypovereinsbank, bnp are international for instance). If you go to St gallen you basically open up the path to work in the entirety of Dach, with Zurich being hardest to get into and frankfurt easier to access.
For London its better to go to London target schools (LSE, LBS, oxbridge, Imperial) otherwise some top continental target schools (St gallen, hec, escp, bocconi etc.) plus strong language ability and relevant experience can land you similar opportunities there.
So basically learn German + go to St gallen I'd say to have the best outcomes anywhere.
EU citizenship is going to be essentially necessary IMO. Speaking as someone who has been on both sides of recruitment, most banks don’t have appetite to sponsor visas.
Something else to bear in mind is that local schools often get a recruiting boost in that particular city. Just something to bear in mind as you figure out where you’re going.
Thanks for sharing this. I have Portuguese citizenship, so I believe I shouldn’t have any issues. You mentioned you’ve been on both sides, could you share your perspective on the language aspect? How difficult would it be to land a job after a top Master’s program outside London without speaking the local language? I’m fluent in Portuguese and English, can understand Spanish quite well, and my German is rusty, but even when it was better, it wasn’t at a professional level
I’m in an English speaking office/country so can’t speak to that too much unfortunately. I can say all my continental coworkers speak the local language fluently so I imagine not having that would be a significant ding against you, particularly for FO roles.
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