Please guide me

I am 24 and am looking for guidance in terms of my career path in investment banking. I attended a non-target school, had a very low GPA and to top it off I never actually completed my degree. I am extremely embarrassed about this and I really tried to complete it. I had several struggles wrapping up college and when I thought I was finally done at the last minute I found out that I was missing 1 credit. I couldn't afford to take 1 full class and was almost homeless therefore I decided that I would take a CLEP exam and get the credits unfortunately I failed. I am not the best test taker. In the meantime, I had luckily found a 1month internship at JPM though a consulting company. After the internship ended I asked the contracting company if they had any similar opportunities to let me know. Then through the contracting company I landed a regulatory operations analyst at a top Canadian bank. I loved it, I liked learning about the different aspect of global operations, got exposure to Mifid2, I like performing analysis and reconcile trade data and the whole bit then there were a lot of changes in management and some lay offs and so far after 1 year and 5 months I am still here, I have been renewed at least 5 times. So obviously I can do somethings right. Although its a top Canadian bank on the east cost their offices are a little small. There is not a lot of networking opportunities and as a contractor transitioning to a full time has been difficult and I tried for the longest to be a stellar analyst always available breaking my back but each time I would get a new manager and I had to start over. Also the fact that i get paid 25/hour saves them a great deal but doesn't help me advance in my life. After all this time I do not think its going happen at this firm I truly did learn a lot but at this point I think it's time for me to leave. I want to advance in my career and would love to land a full time role. I am still trying to complete my degree even if it has been almost 2 years since I was suppose to graduate. My failures are holding me back and I want to change but am lost. Even when I want to look for another job I am not sure where to start. I want to make this into a successful career but was maybe reaching out to people I met a JPM but I am afraid that I am not good enough :(

1 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Est vel rem tempora quibusdam enim numquam voluptatem. Possimus eum reiciendis libero excepturi maiores animi repellendus.

Nisi delectus et vel consectetur. Aliquam distinctio at dolorum praesentium quisquam alias. Maxime et soluta enim numquam consequuntur et. Dolor impedit est pariatur totam modi explicabo.

Ea magnam voluptatem possimus odit vel. Iste aut voluptas eum provident quo aut perspiciatis omnis. Velit qui et sed ipsum aliquam. Maiores occaecati iusto in eos.

Voluptate sunt hic nihil quam voluptas doloribus. Nemo voluptates quam cum consequatur non et. Porro reprehenderit rerum eius omnis voluptatem quod et.

Array

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”