Hi guys,
I have a 3.7GPA in a humanities major from a non-target liberal arts school. I have one finance-related internship (hedge fund in Asia) but aside from that and an introductory accounting course, I don't have relevant coursework. This semester I participated in what on-campus recruiting there was (mostly regional boutiques), and networked hard to land some off-campus interviews (Evercore, Morgan Stanley, Houlihan Lokey-restructuring). It was a great experience and I actually enjoyed all of it, but currently have no offers. I'm even more determined at this point to break into the industry and was hoping to get some feedback on what I can do at this point
1) Keep trying to break into full-time and hoping something opens up.
2) Apply to some Masters in accounting programs and re-apply for internships next summer. I'm thinking about schools like USC and Texas and would at least know what to expect from the process.
3) Take some tangentially related job that may entail some finance (corporate finance at some large company, transaction services at an accounting firm, etc.)
What do you guys think?
Thanks,
My advice is find a job! I think experience is always better than some degree with no experience. Transaction services and advisory in accounting would be good.
Also, keep networking.
Disagree- take masters in finance over accounting. Also pick Texas over USC - pretty sure Evercore loves McCombs
Agree with this though not sure about the schools. What's with everyone wanting to take a Masters in accounting anyway?
I'd pick a tangenially related job, just make sure it's not too random and the experience can still be useful (i.e. corporate finance).
I like your mature attitude about the process - you're not just some desperate whiner who thinks his life is over because he didn't get into Goldman. Keep trying and you'll succeed.
+1 on this, surprising number of level headed guys here lately. It's really nice to see.
McCombs has the top MPA program and plenty of people go into banking from it, to both Houston and New York. And yes, that includes the integrated and separate program.
I think you would be very successful in an MSF program. You have a good GPA, a good internship and a solid network already. I would try and finish another internship and if you still cant break in, check out an MSF degree.
Wow, thanks guys for all of the helpful feedback!
I'm currently leaning more towards accounting programs because
a) I've heard that Mfin prepares you more to be a quant trader, which isn't the route I want to take; yes, an MPA would prepare me to become an accountant but I've also heard that having that enhanced accounting base would be VERY relevant to banking
b) Correct me if I am mistaken, but it seems there are more accounting programs geared towards students with no previous finance/accounting experience; a masters in finance, on the other hand, seems to have prerequisites.
With that said, does anyone have any recommendations on what other schools I should probably look into? I don't actually know that many people that have gone into these programs (most seem to give up after recruiting season), but am dead set on banking, and hope to eventually make my way to NYC/SF/HK.
Thanks so much!
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