Non-Finance Master's Before MBA & Banking
If I were to graduate with a degree in Econ from a top 15 public, get a top Masters in International Relations, work in the military for some years, and then go to a top MBA program, would my chances for getting a banking job be hurt?
Military has been covered ad nauseum - my question is regarding the Master's in IR. Would banks think that I am too much of a flight risk or not focused enough? Would I need to have gotten an undergrad banking internship?
Thanks!
I don't think flight risk would be the issue, it would be age. Undergrad + master's + MBA? You'd be like a 27 year old first year analyst? That's just not gonna happen...
Problem is that you'd pretty much have to be an associate, but you'd have no banking / finance experience. I think if banking is what you want, do an analyst program post-UG or post-UG + military and then go back to school and come back as an associate if that's what you want. Really, the best is to do military before UG, because then it will help you get into a better undergrad, plus you'll be able to participate in the on-campus recruiting machine which is how essentially all banks recruit analysts, and military will be a big plus. I think doing military after UG instead of before makes recruiting way way more difficult, and doing more school before an analyst program makes it almost impossible.
I started college early, so I would have the Masters at 21. Four years military (assuming I don't go for longer, and that I go right to MBA once back in reserves) means 27 once MBA is done, so your logic is correct, except that from what I have read (which is a lot), MBA hires go in as associates all the time. Is that dependent on having an internship? That is the one thing I couldn't ascertain for myself.
If I were to do military before UG (I am already here anyway, so it is irrelevant) I would be enlisted, and I don't want that.
I have heard lots of things saying that military is good for breaking into finance (NO that is not why I would do military, but the point remains)...is it really that difficult to get recruited by a bank as a top MBA without an internship/analyst work, even considering the military officer experience and masters? Why exactly do you think that military after UG makes recruiting so difficult?
The military - analyst - MBA idea is really interesting, thanks for all the help. I apologize for totally cross-examining you, but I work in a psychology lab, so that is what I am trained to do :P
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