Advice for getting a job in public finance

I'm a second-year master's student in public policy at a top 5 program, and I've focused on data science and economics courses. Before grad school, I worked for a couple of years at a small company as a consultant in a niche area working with state and local governments. Do you all have any advice for getting a job in public finance? Most people at my school want to do public sector consulting, but I didn't get any interview offers from the prestigious firms. I made it to the final interview with a medium-sized accounting firm to be a municipal finance consultant, but I didn't get the job because I don't know Excel (we use python and R in my courses). I'm pretty sure I'll find a good job, but I'll take any advice you folks are willing to give. Thank you.

1 Comments
 

Nostrum sunt incidunt cum maiores et. Atque nisi sunt rerum nulla qui eveniet voluptatum.

Et itaque voluptas quos. Fugit iste quasi qui qui odit ipsum. Voluptate blanditiis temporibus ea dolor eaque dicta. Sint eum labore inventore reprehenderit. Molestiae autem repellat eum cum quo temporibus.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
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...”