Freshman in Highschool looking for advice

I have a deep love for finance and I’m looking forward to a career in IB. Was wondering what if anything i could do at this point to maximize my chances of actually landing a job later on apart from getting good grades. I’m already taking small courses on CO finance.

8 Comments
 

Get off Wall St. Oasis until you're a college freshman or at the very minimum a high school senior deciding on where to go for college.

Get into as good a college as you can but also recognize that you don't need to go to Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Stanford/MIT to get into a top investment bank (although it certainly helps).

Being on this site so early is just a waste of time for you. You aren't going to maximize your chances of getting a job in banking by doing anything in high school in terms of finance knowledge or experience. Get good grades, get a good SAT score, and get into a good college. That's it in regards to banking, which shouldn't even be on your mind until years later

 
Most Helpful

If you are 14 you do not have a “deep love for finance and passion for IB”. Something that is often overlooked on this forum is being a likable and normal person - if I interviewed a kid who said he wanted to be an investment banker since he was a FRESHMAN IN HIGHSCHOOL I am going to assume he is the biggest try hard known to man and not someone I want to spend 12 hours a day with. Bro go do normal 14 year old stuff - play sports, video games with your boys, try to get a girl to hook up with you - anything but finance.

 

Tempora dolor distinctio quo molestias deserunt consequatur aut. Atque qui aliquid porro doloribus nihil iste est. Porro adipisci itaque corporis et et qui.

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 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

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 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”