What are my chances - Two years of equity research experience
Hey guys,
I'm trying to gauge what my chances are of breaking into IBanking, late, as an analyst. Considering BB, 1st and 2nd tier banks.
- I have two years of equity research experience at an independent research firm in Manhattan.
- 3.3 GPA from non target school (SUNY at Stony Brook) and 3.8 major GPA
- 1450 SAT and 760 SAT IIC
- Passed the CFA level 1 exam
Before I begin cold-calling, contacting headhunters, and leveraging contacts, I'm looking for an honest opinion on what my chances are. How frequent is it for banks to fill analyst spots with people not directly out of undergrad?
Thanks in advance.
100% honest opinion: if you bust your ass and work your network and are a rock-solid interviewee, about 15% in the BB. The CFA does us no good, the SAT is average, the GPA is below average (we don't care about major GPA), and nobody here cares about independent firms. It's not common for us to hire people not directly out of undergrad.
Still, 15% is 15%. Good luck and rock on. You'll find a good place somewhere, if not in the BB.
might as well go to business school now, then start out as an associate.
Why do you have your SAT scores? Are you trying to get into undergrad college again?
Mis Ind, I am just curious how you came up with an exact 15% chance for him. Are you in BB?
Why do you want to go into ibanking from where you are now?
And 1450 SAT is right in the sweet spot, any higher and ibanking wouldn't interest you. :)
Funny, all the kids I knew that scored above 1550 were loons. I saw one kid that scored 1600 at a gas station about 3 years after graduation. He didn't even go to college, was working as a bookeeper or something. Other kid I knew that scored 1590 went to college, but eneded up selling drugs (or so he claimed) and insisted his life dream was to sell imported furniture. All the people with scores in the mid 1400s to very low 1500s were both smart and driven.
Anyway just an observation with a very limited sample. The verbal portion of my GMAT was borderline loony so no one should take it personally.
With the number of independent boutiques popping up and FD limiting sell-side value, it seems to me the research field is starting to get diluted. With every new independent shop that opens up, the value of my research drops accordingly.
Buy-side research, though, seems like it will buck this trend. Hedge funds are pouring money into their analysts, and those than can perform are rewarded proportionally.
My near-term goal is business school, but post-MBA I'd like to move into a more secure--but just as challenging--field. This leaves me with buy-side research and banking. PE is certainly an option, but I view that as being much further down the line.
That 15% success rate, like you said Mis Ind, is if I network like crazy and ace the interview. Given your experience in the field, I'll take your word for it. I peg my realistic chances, therefore, at around half that, 7%-8%. Seems pretty bleak. I'm leaning towards waiting till after B-school at this point.
Thanks all for your help.
Orangutan, yes, I'm in a BB and involved in recruitment both for my group and from my school.
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