Am I Cooked?

I understand there are countless "I attend X non-target school and have 3.Y GPA how can I land a role in Z industry" but I just want to know if I'm truly cooked. I go to UC Santa Cruz (worst ranked UC) and study economics (3.7 GPA (yes I know, I might be fucked)). I plan to finish undergrad in 3 yrs at the end of this year and stay and do a 1 yr MSc in applied economics and/or finance here at UCSC (yes I know I could try for MBA elsewhere but I really like SC as a place and makes sense to maximize productive time in a place I love with friends and GF around). I believe the networking out of the masters program might be better than the undergrad but it looks pretty bleak from here. Open to working in any IB firm, BB or EB risk management, S&T, Research, or literally anything that gives me any sort of leverage or opportunity to eventually lateral to PE (would love to work in a fund that focuses on renewable energy projects). Any advice (other than the standard advice of nail your resume, network like a motherfucker, etc.) or am I properly fucked?

1 Comments
 

Distinctio exercitationem rerum aut rem id enim. Sunt non velit voluptas alias sapiente sit voluptates quibusdam. Ut eaque non facere voluptas corporis molestiae fugit. Quos voluptas et veniam consequatur. Omnis aut enim voluptates sit.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”