Nontraditional Background (Biochemistry): Secured Fixed Income Analyst Internship, is this a good start?

Hey all,

I'm from a rather nontraditional background trying to break into finance/BB firms for Investment Banking analyst positions.

I recently finished my UG in Biochemistry - decided I wanted to switch over to finance, but realized I had missed recruitment period for fall 2017 and winter/summer 2018. As a result, last month, I ended up applying to a couple of internship positions that popped up through my networks/postings and secured a Fixed Income Analyst position at a big investment management firm in Canada.

The firm is largely a pension fund firm - and the role is that of a credit analyst, evaluating high yield American bonds. I don't know much about what is considered a good internship or not - given my background, my position (being out of UG), and my goal (break into BBs), is this a good start? I have no idea what to make of it because it is not an equity analyst position, but it is in the fixed income department. Typically everyone seems to be doing equity analyst positions when breaking into BBs/investment banking?

0 Comments

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”