Ross Freshman Wanting to Know Overall Paths in Business

Hello everyone,

I'm currently a freshman undertaking a dual degree in Business and Engineering at the University of Michigan, and I'm eager to learn from the wealth of experience this community has to offer.

I've always been passionate about business, and I'm exploring pathways within this vast field. Specifically, I have a growing interest in high finance and consulting. I understand that hands-on experience is invaluable, so I would be grateful for any advice on securing internships and what steps I might consider to learn and grow in these areas.

I'm also curious about the networking process and how I can effectively engage with professionals in the industry. If there are resources, clubs, or activities that could help me gain a better understanding, I'd be thankful for your recommendations.

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance!

36 Comments
 
Most Helpful

This is why I’ll take a scrappy non-target kid over some Umich schmuck every day of the week

 

The two most common “business” career paths out of targets are finance and consulting. 
 

within finance there is investment banking (sell side capital raising + M&A), private equity and private debt (buy side M&A, growth equity investing, private lending, includes venture capital if not underwriting deals based on cash flows generally speaking), public equity and public credit (sell side sales and trading, sell side research, buy side research and trading, mutual funds or other long only products, cred it rating agencies), sell side restructuring and buy-side distressed investing across the capital structure, real estate (try the RE forum idk much)

 within consulting there’s management consulting (MBB), distressed and turnaround consulting (Alix, A&M), big 4 have a bunch of diff types like tech supply chain 

 those are the more cookie cutter career paths. can always join a marketing agency or do your own thing. Real money comes from equity, whether invested or built 

 

Analyst 1 in IB-M&A:

Very helpful—great way to reconnect with family and offer them great deals. Would take over top BB (think GS/MS/Stifel). Hope this is helpful


lol guys OP is brand new to finance, go easy on him. OP so you know, to be 100% clear, you should NOT look at NWM as a path no matter what the recruiter at the mall says.

if you like it then you shoulda put a banana on it
 

Engineering + finance is a killer combo for finance. Best buyside analysts I know are applied engineers.

OP give me a pm if you want a high level chat and I can give you the quick download on where to start (which I’d be happy to share later with anyone who wants it).

if you like it then you shoulda put a banana on it
 

I'm not sure if this is answering your question, but few things to do:

  • Focus on your schoolwork; keep as high of a GPA as you can. Double major in engineering is always impressive, but not when your GPA slides because of it
  • Build strong relationships with the upperclassmen as they'll be your intro hook into wherever they go to work
  • Go through your friends and family network and see if they're connected to anyone working in banking/consulting and connect with them
  • Start an excel file filled with many companies (split sheets by company type) and fill out who you know at each place and when you last spoke with them. This will fill out over your time in college
  • Stay informed on the financial markets. Start reading the Journal and pick up one of those daily morning newsletters. This will help you sound informed when you speak with professionals

Good luck!

 

why ask WSO randos instead of Ross upperclassmen who were in your exact same shoes a few semesters back... they will know and advise best how to break into XYZ from Ross

 

Try speaking with some seniors with offers lined up and ask them how they got there. Who knows maybe u will even find friends.

 

All lucrative business paths essentially fall into 4 categories: 1. Investing ( PE VC hedge funds ). 2. Help other invest ( ibanking S&T ). 3. Build something that attract investments ( Product management, techies ). 4. Help investors manage companies ( strat consulting ). Whatever your future job is, it need to be in one of these categories, otherwise you’re saying good bye to $$$

 

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