UK Msc in finance
Hi all,
I’m debating on whether to apply for a masters course at LSE/Oxbridge/UCL/Imperial but think I may be too late in my journey.
For some background I studied finance at a non-target russel group university achieving a 2:1 with A*AB in my A levels (no maths A level but econ at A grade), graduated in 2021.
Since then I’ve gained experience in Transaction Services, boutique investment banking (3month internship) and currently in wealth management (non IB house)
WM sucks ass as its more FoF & I want to break back in to IB. By the time I potentially start and finish my masters I’ll be 24/25.
A) is it worth it? B) i have no summer lined up for this year (as im in WM atm) is this a problem? C) if i were to enrol on a masters programme which would be best for placement / most likely to accept D) am i too late?
Thank you for your input
A. No
B. No - you graduated 2 years ago. Stop trying to get summer internships meant for 2nd year undergrads and get a full time job.
C. Oxford / LSE
D. No.
You’re better off joining a CF house (MM/boutique/Big 4) and getting direct M&A experience there. You’ll get paid to do it and it’ll make your CV significantly more impressive than being another MFE Masters grad who missed the cut at 22. I know plenty of people who spent 18 months at Big 4, after doing non-target degrees, and then pivoted to EB/BB IB at an A2 level.
Issue is the market is cold right now, but they’re going to need juniors when it picks back up, so keep getting any kind of finance experience you can and get your story straight as to why you want IB.
Hey man,
In a similar boat. Graduated with a first from a semi-target in 2022. Now I have just over one year of FT experience at a top BB as a credit analyst and I'm looking to pivot to IB (lev fin, debt advisory). The market is picking up a bit but is still cold.
Should I apply for a master's for Sep 24 intake and 2025 the market should be much better and I would have 2yrs of FT experience under my belt at a top BB.
What are your thoughts?
.
They will make it difficult for you. A Levels don't matter too much, especially if you have a masters, but they're not great and you might get filtered out automatically by HR or CV screening systems when applying to entry level positions.
Hey, don't stress about being "too late" – you're still pretty young, and the experience you've gained so far is valuable. A master's from a top uni like LSE or Oxbridge can definitely help you break into IB, but it'll be a hefty investment of both time and money. For placements, I'd say LSE or Oxbridge have the edge. Not having a summer lined up isn't ideal, but it's not the end of the world either. You can always network or take on another internship. Good luck with whatever you decide!
Not late at all.
Similar path here. Graduated in 2021 in my home country , did 1 year of work there and then joined a target masters in 2022 in London. Broke into IB as a SA by the end of my masters. I just finished the internship and will be joining ft 2024
There are lots of continental European students who follow a similar path
I would add LBS to your list. It has slightly better placement and they don't care that much about academics as Oxford/lse as long as you have relevant experience. A 2.1 is not bad, but might not be competitive enough
Just bear in mind that these target masters do not guarantee a SA internship. It is still hard to break in, my response rate for first-round interviews was about 20-30% (I'm not a diversity candidate, rate is higher if you are one)
Hey, congrats on landing the full-time offer for 2024! That's awesome. You bring up some good points about the target masters. LBS sounds like a solid suggestion, especially for someone who may not have the academic standing for Oxford/LSE but has relevant work experience. Breaking into IB is definitely no walk in the park, even from a top school, so your stats on the response rate for interviews are really useful. It helps set realistic expectations.
Good luck with your full-time role, and it sounds like you've navigated the path successfully!
LBS has top notch placements for London and I would definitely say that LBS / HEC are the top targets in Europe for master's when it comes to finance. However, beware that the employment reports from LBS are very deceiving. One might get the impression that the placements are full-time jobs but in fact almost all of them are internships. This is especially the case in PE, where pretty much all placements are into off-cycle internships. Great school, but just don't make the mistake of thinking that the placements shown in their reports are full-time positions.
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