US citizen, uk student, IB transfer to the US

I’m a us citizen curious about locations for applications in the us and uk for investment banking. I’ve always applied to both but I’m curious about where to devote my energy for interviews. My plan was to internally transfer from London to US after getting a full time position hopefully. Is this feasible? Or should I just aim for US? For reference I’m at Oxbridge doing a quantitative finance msc. Any advice from anyone trying/has done the same thing?

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I haven’t been to the UK but based on my recent recruiting efforts there, US is a lot easier to get in.

And by easier I mean if you are prepared, you network, and are sociable, you’ll get in. As long as you do your part, you’ll get in.

I networked and almost got in from a Canadian MFin. HR didn’t want to sponsor visa because I needed lottery visa just to start. But otherwise, cleared interviews at top BB/EB. All purely based on networking (and obv my prep and social skills). 

Whereas, UK has been a total black box. Even with referrals, can’t get an interview. Sometimes HR have taken my call due to referrals but then auto rejected from apps in less than a day because I already graduated or get ghosted because the person who connected me to HR then got poached.

You have a reputable name, so I’d say spend most of your time networking in the US. While just applying to the jobs that open in the UK. Having a backup is always good, especially since you have the top UK uni name. And transferring is indeed possible since you are a US citizen and don’t need any effort on the part of the employer. 

 

Adipisci repellat cumque eum ea nihil incidunt. Illo eius dolores inventore rerum eos quod. Commodi enim et enim iure vero placeat sed est. Sint voluptas sed omnis et molestias veritatis. Aut impedit consequatur accusantium sint nesciunt. Cupiditate ut illum assumenda accusamus. Accusantium dolor eum quo et.

Perspiciatis possimus et et dolorem ut qui qui. Voluptas doloribus ut quia iure. Beatae delectus facere et et.

Ducimus eos laborum sit eum commodi deserunt ducimus. Dolores minus aspernatur dolor voluptate rem dolores vel.

Tempore perferendis non qui veritatis eaque. Dolores ipsum aut voluptatem harum modi et cum. Unde autem fuga eligendi possimus.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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

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...”