How do I become an analyst? Am I even qualified? Please give me some guidance on making an analyst.

Hi,

to share my background,

I have graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor's degree in Economics with a GPA of 3.4 back in Dec, 2016. I have always admired the finance industry and now I want to become an analyst. Something about an Analyst sounded "sexy".

After upon graduation, I have worked for a wealth management firm/insurance agency for about 3 months and came to the conclusion that this was not something that I wanted to pursue long-term. It was more a sales-driven role and the main job was to get clients. I don't have a lot of millionaires or high net worth clients to call every day and thus I had to to do a lot cold calling and cold visits. What I realized was that I was not happy doing cold calls and be stressed over client's canceling appointments the minute before and "begging" them to sit down with us.

I came to the conclusion that I wanted to acquire more analytical skills and have a desk/support job. I know there is a stigma to a desk job as it being "boring". However, I believe knowing what to expect everyday and making decent money has its own merit.

Here is the problem, besides graduating from UC Berkeley, I have never had a real experience as an analyst. All of the job descriptions say that you need 1-2 experience and frankly I do not. I haven't had any internships at a bank, investment firms,...etc but I would really like to work in the industry and learn how to "crunch numbers". Also, regretfully, I have never joined any "business","statistics","finance" clubs at CAL.

If you guys were in my shoes, how would you become first become an analyst?

I am open and will be receptive to your sincere comments.

Thank you.

4 Comments
 

You should network with alumni, Berkeley probably has a really strong alumni network with lots of people in various parts of the financial industry. What do you mean by an analyst, an analyst in investment banking?

Reach out to alumni on LinkedIn and ask them about their background, how they got their job, how you can get there, etc. Will your schools career services, or econ department advisor still help you?

 

Having done some research and self-reflection, I am leaning towards ER analyst. What do you think I should do to improve my chances? Should I purchase financial modeling courses? I have heard that during interviews, they require you to pitch stocks and give your reasoning behind those pitches. Which programs/websites offer the best financial modeling courses? Should I go for the ones that offer certificates? Can I include those certifications in my resume or they just don't stand out? Thanks for the replies.

 

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