Am I completely screwed?
I just finished my first year of business school (Columbia) and I am the most frustrated person on Earth.
My one and only career goal was to get into IB. Unortunately, I didn't get an internship at BB: partially my own fault, partially the school's, partially the shitty year. Instead I had to settle for an unpaid internship in a boutique bank in NYC, and there's no full-time program, so I am just there for the summer. The question is where can I possible go from there??
Based on my conversations with the people from BB, it appears that they are not likely to hire people who were not in their summer class. They didn't hire much of those last year, and they certainly won't hire this fall because they are cutting back. In fact, they told me that it is going to be really hard for the summer interns to get their full time offers.
I have engineering background, which is, from my experience, worse than having no background at all. It doesn't really translate into anything. At this point I think I will be happy with any job as long as it is in high finance and allows for growth and/or attractive exit opportunities. I will have 110K in student loans and simply can not afford taking on some crappy corporate job that would pay 80K base plus 10K bonus.
I don't understand what strategy I should adopt. Should I go after BB, understanding that my chances there are literally zero? Should I try to get into sell-side equity research (potential opportunity to go to buy side)? Does it even worth the effort trying to get into hedge funds?
I totally don't trust my school's career management center, they sugarcoat the situation all the time and tend to downplay the difficulties of getting good jobs.
Is anybody here in the same boat?
Not that I am any expert on the matter, but coming from Columbia I would assume that you could make it into a BB for full time recruiting regardless of where you interned. Yeah, it might not be in NYC, but look into Chicago, LA, etc. Do not limit yourself to one location, or else you might screw yourself over. Also, use your alumni network. They are there to help you, and coming from Columbia you have a large network to work off of. You have to prove that you want the job, thats the key. Just because your resume says 'Columbia' on it does not entitle you to anything. Network, pull the grades, do NOT limit your options (look into MM banks and presitgious boutiques), and all will fall into place. And from what I have gathered, a degree in engineering is actually highely regarded (as long as you didnt get less than a 3.0). You are in a good spot, just go above and beyond. Best of luck.
You are not screwed at all. There are lots of people who get jobs without relevant summer experience, you at least will have worked at a bank. Ok, so you aren't going to get a job offer at the end of the summer, but my prediction is that lots of summer hires (even those who got top notch internships) won't. Are you in the best possible position to land a FT job, no, but you are still in a good spot. You are correct in that next year BBs are going to hire primarily from their summer class, but keep in mind that BBs are generally feeling the market conditions more than some of the smaller boutiques. I would suggest working the boutique circuit hard come recruiting time, they will be hiring and lots of them don't have summer programs so they will look for people like you! Also, try to network you ass off with any bankers you deal with in other firms this summer.
That's a big crock of sh!t. How about Marc Lasry? He didn't start at a BB, he didn't go to a top law school (New York Law School), he didn't practice law at a prestigious firm. He started his own brokerage firm (Amroc) and then Amroc got seeded by the Bass Brothers (through Acadia Partners, LP) to manage a distressed fund.
You're being irrational.
I don't really agree. You are right that with decreased prestige, landing a top exit opp is more difficult, but you really need to drop a lot in the prestige department before you get shut out completely from good exit opps. Before I worked in banking I was familiar with a couple boutiques, after a short while on the job I became familiar with many more. Things certainly aren't going to be as easy as if you were with the top group at Goldman, but those who have worked in the industry for awhile (those who would be hiring you for exit opps) will be familiar with most top boutiques. The bottom line is that the boutique spectrum is vast, with shops that rival Goldman (Lazard, Evercore) and places that are a couple of guys working out of their moms basement. Your best bet, is to ask BB bankers and those in PE what they think of a place before you join it. (don't just make a post here for college students to respond to) Also, look for banks that have a true niche, and in particular a niche that you think would be favorable to the type of exit opps you are interested in.
"Partially my own fault, partially the school's, partially the shitty year"
??? It's your own fault, if you really wanted it you should have got it. Don't blame external factors.
Also, you are an arrogant prick too, looking down at jobs of other people..I don't think you have a personality fit with BB.
"I will have 110K in student loans and simply can not afford taking on some crappy corporate job that would pay 80K base plus 10k bonus."
2 graduate24:
Who the hell do you think you're to judge my personality. I gues I hit the nerve, but I suggest that you put your degree to work and crunch the numbers, genius. 80K is roughly $4,500 per month, 110K in loans is roughly $1,500 per month (not tax deductible if you make more than 70K), how's anybody supposed to live on 3K in a city where 1Br rent is 2900? Besides I was making MORE before I went to school, so you're damn right, I do look down to those salaries.
I completely agree. Dont settle for what you don't want, especially if you are at Columbia. I would go look for BB opportunities in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, LA, SFran, and even Toronto.
"I would go look for BB opportunities in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, LA, SFran, and even Toronto."
Even Toronto..what were not good enough for you?
Agree with above, look at other big cities + use your alumni network. It can be done.
What's so wrong with a boutique bank if you state that IB has been your one and only career goal?
It's obvious that you prioritize money very highly among your goals - and (from what I can tell) little of anything else. You are totally blowing your situation out of proportion and with such poor rationale and disregard for "crappy corporate jobs", I question whether you'll be able to achieve the success you're seeking or simply resort to a "shitty career for the rest of your life." If you can't deduce that not having an NYC BB job won't be the end of your career on your own then frankly you aren't capable enough to be there in the first place, let alone worry about the exit opps. I'm rather disappointed that more people didn't call you out on your dumbass comment regarding corporate jobs, whether any malice was intended or not. Shame on the rest of you.
Yo Alien, sounds like you need to get laid. You're being a whining baby. Get over it, dude, no one wants to hear it. Grow a sack and go get what you want instead of crying to an online forum.
It looks like you've already answered a couple of your questions.
From your posts, it seems like your definition of "completely screwed" is "working anywhere besides a BB in NYC."
You've already said "it appears that they (BB's) are not likely to hire people who were not in their summer class."
You aren't in a BB summer class. So I'd say it's likely that you're "completely screwed," by your standards.
Plenty of people have answered this: MM and boutique banks all over the country (including NYC), BBs in other cities besides NYC.
It sounds like you need to broaden your focus to more than just NYC BBs, it may not be 100% impossible to land one of those spots, but I wouldn't be banking on it without a reasonable backup plan (MM/boutiques in NYC and elsewhere, or BBs outside of NYC).
Why would you do this if you state that "My one and only career goal was to get into IB" and "by IB I've always meant a bulge bracket in NYC"
I think the best way to end up in BB IB in NYC is to start off with the other options mentioned above (MM/boutiques in NYC and elsewhere, or BBs outside of NYC).
I'm not.
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