Hi everyone,
I recently got a FT return offer at a BB starting next year. I am considering graduating a semester early (December 2020). Planning on asking HR soon if they'll let me start in January 2021 instead of the usual start date in July. Has anyone been through a similar experience? How flexible are banks with start dates? Any pros and cons to starting early?
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I’ve had friends who have started early like you mention so it’s possible depending on the bank. I would consider taking that time off and traveling (if things are opening) or just generally enjoying the free time. You won’t get an opportunity like this for a very long time. The 4 months or so I had off after graduating was really nice and gave plenty of time to thing about what I really wanted in the future career wise.
I would love to travel! It's just that I am an international student and need to start working within 2-3 months of graduating acc to visa regulations :(
Fuck that - enjoy your last semester if you can (financially)
I've been thinking about the financial part. I got done with my major in my junior year. Now, I am literally just taking classes that I like. I go to a liberal arts college and even after a huge amount of financial aid, the cost is quite a bit and I have been wondering if it's worth it. School is completely remote so I don't get to see my friends at all ( and who knows what spring 2021 will look like?). A lot of my friends (not in finance) are graduating a semester early so wanted to explore the option
Happens every other year at the EB I work at. It has its pros and cons. Obviously, it's great to make money sooner and get your reps in early for PE recruiting. However, you typically won't have the formal training program so you'll be more raw once you hit the desk than you would have been by starting normally. Also, depending on the firm, you may not get any extra bonus for the months you start early
Thanks for your comment! Interested in knowing: Did these analysts struggle a lot ( since they didn't get formal training)? I think I did okay during the internship but to be honest, it was remote and we didn't really get any important tasks
Know a buddy who did this, had a generally slower ramp up than traditional full time analysts and got to develop really strong relationships early. If you're at a BB, it might even give you preferential treatment for group placement.
I for one graduated early and elected not to go this route because I wanted to travel/have fun/take my GMAT, but if you need to start working for Visa reasons, would highly recommend. The professional benefits are crazy, way ahead for recruiting on-cycle, preferential group placement, much stronger relationships which can help you manage workflow and work on cooler stuff, etc etc
Thank you! Someone mentioned above that there's no formal training if you start early. Did your friend struggle without training? I am from a liberal arts background so that's a concern
I think he was relatively well prepared, though I will say training in general isn't that helpful. Maybe take the next couple months and spend 5-10 hours per week doing modeling tests (helps for PE recruiting too) and if you feel ready then broach the conversation
This is a trade off between freedom before you join the real world and just relax with friends vs building a strong beginning to your career as a first year. Both are great choices but depend on personal preference. I went with relaxing with friends and enjoying my last semester (also pre Covid...). But, you will not be materially behind/ahead anyone to be honest.
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