Help with Transitioning from USAF Contracting to Finance Career...

Hello everyone!

Here's my situation: I have a year left of both my active duty commitment to the Air Force and my pursuit of my MBA in Finance (very convenient how that lined up) and I would like to move from the cornfields of Nebraska where I'm stationed to the skyscrapers of lower Manhattan (preferably a career in M&A, given my background), but I'm not quite sure how to make that transition.

In the Air Force I am a contracting specialist and will have 6 years of contracting experience under my belt when my time is up, and my MBA is from Bellevue University (which is definitly not a top MBA school) but I really want to work in finance. Any tips?

5 Comments
 

Army vet here. There's an extensive military network on Wall St. You need to Utilize LinkedIn and network your ass off. You can ask around and I think most will agree with that advice. You will need to network especially hard given that you lack a top MBA as the they are generally favored.

Best of luck to you.

I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum.
 

Saepe beatae et aspernatur. Et vel aliquid fugit sit sit culpa est.

Autem eius mollitia quisquam. Praesentium mollitia libero quo incidunt nihil rerum aut. Incidunt tenetur similique et quia vitae laboriosam minus. Voluptatem et consequatur aut ab. Laborum a repellendus fuga vel sunt.

Sed totam cum facere adipisci nisi eaque. Quo voluptas odit eveniet sunt voluptatem unde. Asperiores ut ut libero optio. Esse iusto ipsum iste veniam ut impedit.

Fugit laborum aut officiis eligendi et ea at. Aut asperiores ut ipsam qui similique non ea impedit.

I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum.

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 (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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”