A recent grad in need of career advice
Hello WSO,
I really need career advice. Please have mercy for the long post I’m about to write.
I feel as though I made a dumb mistake with my career. For context, I’m a recent grad from what I would imagine is a target (Durham, Politics), and 10 months ago joined a grad scheme in the public sector in finance.
I hate it here.
The money is a joke, and I spend most of my day applying for jobs as my work is exceptionally boring and easy.
In the summer before taking this, I got to a final round interview at a pretty solid IB for S&T (I didn’t want to go into S&T, I was just nervous about this job), and messed up so didn’t get the job.
Ever since then, I’ve felt like I missed the bus to get into corporate finance/IB. I’ve gotten far into other processes, albeit they were hail mary applications to escape this shite.
With this information in mind, do I have any chance of breaking in? Should I do a masters in finance to beef up my quant skills, or should I try for middle office (compliance etc, I interviewed at Morgan Stanley in my 2nd year)?
If so, where f… do I start?
I guess it depends a little on what you want to do.
At least as far as IB goes, my view would be that the best chance of breaking in (or at least unlocking more interesting job opportunities more broadly), could be joining one of the Big 4 audit programs, training as an accountant for 3 years (the money will suck for 3 years and the job boring), and then transitioning to FDD, TS, or other groups in the accountancy firm. It's not unusual to move thereafter to MM PE firms or IBs.
That said, to achieve it, you really need to be top of your peer group at these accountancy firms (although from your post it sounds like you have a competitive drive and might actually appreciate that). Even if you don't make it, after those 3 years you're a qualified accountant and your salary and career prospects will jump significantly. Accountancies tend to have big intakes of juniors so you'll have a chance of getting in.
Otherwise just keep crunching and applying.
Middle Office will get you a better salary than your current role I think, but I don't think the work will be much more stimulating, and it's incredibly rare to transition to FO IB if that's your goal.
I don't love the idea of a masters. It'll give you another and better shot for grad roles than applying from your current role, but it might not work, and it'll cost a bunch. It's definitely a better idea than spending the rest of your life in a job you hate though and see what options you get.
Thank you so much, this is so useful!
I’ll grind some applications come September and try for a big4.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some detailed steps and advice for your situation:
1. Assess Your Current Situation and Goals
2. Consider Further Education
3. Leverage Your Background
4. Networking and Applications
5. Consider Middle Office Roles
6. Prepare for Interviews
7. Stay Persistent and Positive
Additional Resources
By following these steps, you can improve your chances of breaking into the finance industry and finding a role that aligns with your career goals. Good luck!
Sources: What can I do with a master in finance?, 22 Year Old Failure Seeks Advice re: Breaking into Finance, MBB vs Quant at IBank, How to break into S&T as a graduate?, Leaving FAANG dev job for serious finance (Yes, you read that right)
BOE? If so, can drop a few comments.
Sorry, I don’t want to seem foolish but what does BOE stand for/mean?🤦🏻♂️😅
Bank of England
I thought so, but I’m not sure I understand the question - if it’s whether I work at BoE then it’s a no :/
I suppose it depends what you ultimately want to do. Don't measure your current self by what your peers are doing / earning now - ask yourself where you want to be in the next 5-10yrs.
If you want to develop a more quantitative skillset, sure, go and do a master's degree - but make sure it fits the brand profile of whatever role in the future it is you want to do.
I agree with the prior comment that a role at one of the Big Four consultancy / auditing firms could be a good route - it will give you a definitive skillset and the ability to "look around" (so to speak) at other industries.
The step-up, going from the public side to the private side, will probably be larger than you expect, so just make sure you want this, because the money - although better - won't be worthwhile if you quickly get overwhelmed and grow to hate your decision.
The upside, at least, is that you can probably move back to the public side quite readily in this instance... I'd say it's worth the risk.
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