Newbie Questions for college student

Hello, I am new to this site and decided to ask a few questions. I am a sophomore finance student interested in IB. 1.) what should i learn/study on my own for IB? I find myself having plenty of extra time outside of class. 2.) Should i be focusing on one industry for my studies? I know that there are certain divisions that IB analysts work in such as energy. So should i be studying one industry to become more knowledgeable or should i take a more broader view? 3.) I recieved a PWM internship in a regional branch for a middle market ib. Would this help me leverage a position as an IB intern for their headquarters?
Thanks!

6 Comments
 

I just finished soph year myself so I'm not experienced but I don't think that's the right way to think about this. I don't have any family connections to finance but I landed a PE internship by coldcalling a fuckton of firms and I'm networking like hell this summer. I'm still not going to shit on people who just happen to be a bit more fortunate than me in this regard because if I want IB like I know I do, that's just motivation to work harder than anyone else.

 

1.) Yes. If you're finishing up your sophomore year, you need to be prepped for interviews early on in your junior year. Read guides. Also, join finance-oriented student organizations to get a better understanding.

2.) If you have a specific interest and really want, for example, to be in an energy group, then go for it. But the majority of students will not and don't need to. More important is understanding the overall industry (M&A/capital raising/etc.) and universal valuation metrics/methods.

3.) Sort of. It's good that you have something to put on your resume with a recognizable name, so better than nothing, but no one is going to be impressed by it for recruiting purposes. If it's a lower middle market bank who doesn't do traditional on-campus recruiting, may be more open to eager lateral movers.

 
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