Career Advice: Breaking into GS with an Accounting Background

For most of college I thought I wanted to do accounting as a career. Only had a change of heart recently and got really into finance, now I think my dream job would be working at a hedge fund or a similar business managing investments. I go to school at a non-target, but I learned that some executives and other employees at a specific GS office are alumni. As a result a good chunk of new analysts are actually hired and recruited from my school every year. Ideally I'd like to get an analyst position either in equity research or investment banking to build up that experience needed for breaking into the hedge fund industry.

I have a good GPA (3.85) and a strong accounting resume but I'm not sure it will be enough to get an interview for these positions. Since I only recently became interested in finance, I don't have much finance-related work experience, coursework, or involvement to put on my resume. 

One potential foot in the door I've considered is applying for a controller position. I think I have a much better chance at getting an interview given my strong accounting background and resume (Internship at Big 4, placed in an accounting case competition, 4.0 in all accounting classes). I'm not really interested in working in controllers long-term and would prefer to work in the divisions mentioned above, how likely/easy is it to transfer divisions if I were to get hired? And if switching divisions is not a possibility, would a career in controllers do anything to help break into a hedge fund?

1 Comments
 

Quasi voluptatibus omnis quia tempore aut cum. Commodi vel possimus id aspernatur sit. Ipsa ut delectus ut placeat. Necessitatibus mollitia dolore hic suscipit consequuntur aperiam.

Quisquam laboriosam nihil quasi in. Quia consequatur dolores voluptatum cumque inventore modi sed. Non voluptas quod at quia. Vel architecto occaecati autem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”