How to find a mentor

Hi WSO,

Can y'all please provide some advice on how to find a free mentor? I am trying to transition careers from edtech to finance and would like to have someone to come to for advice, etc. Ideally, I would like to my next role to be related to quantitative research/algo trading in the Bay Area. I have tired doing cold outreach via LinkedIn but haven't had much success, and I am not close to anybody that works in that role. All my of data analytics skills are self taught through Quantopian and DataCamp, and I regularly use Python and SQL in my current role. Anyway, any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

10 Comments
 

Keep at it. Craft a compelling story (short and concise) that gets people's attention, demonstrates sincere interest, and shows credibility.

The way I found my mentors was I identified someone I want to be like or who has accomplished what I was hoping to achieve and reached out. People are willing to help people if they see you care enough.

Also, ask good questions. People love sharing their story and if there's one way to get people to like you and be willing to help it's to have them talk about themselves and get them to share their stories.

"Out the garage is how you end up in charge It's how you end up in penthouses, end up in cars, it's how you Start off a curb servin', end up a boss"
 

It was far more organic than finding someone and asking "hey will you mentor me?".

He had just moved back to our area from SF after he exited the startup that he founded. I took him out for beers and asked a ton of good questions and discussed what my team was building and our incremental progress. After meeting 4 times or so I finally just asked if he'd be willing to take a more formal role as a mentor and advisor and the rest is history.

The ultimate goal is to develop real relationships with people, show them you're making progress and hungry, and eventually - if they fit what you need from a mentor - it'll happen.

"Out the garage is how you end up in charge It's how you end up in penthouses, end up in cars, it's how you Start off a curb servin', end up a boss"
 

I am in a very similar situation, looking for a mentor in the same space in the bay area. Do you want to network so we can exchange notes during our search?

 

Doloribus quo sit sed perspiciatis. Eveniet occaecati maiores neque magnam voluptates veritatis.

Fugit autem perferendis molestias voluptates laudantium nobis. Reiciendis voluptates eum quia dolorum quos quibusdam. Ullam et quod velit quaerat veniam. Deserunt aperiam reiciendis laborum modi consectetur. Eos veritatis possimus quisquam totam nostrum aperiam fugit. Aspernatur inventore doloremque ut impedit. Animi voluptatibus ipsum velit iste.

Consequatur ut et assumenda pariatur commodi quam magni. Labore non rerum fugit est eligendi et. Sequi ullam id fugiat aut ea quae tempore et. Iure nulla animi quia ut facilis. Consequuntur minus vel est dolorem.

Id sit aperiam quis consequatur veniam fugit cum. Consequatur quis asperiores perspiciatis non eum quisquam. Nostrum cum sequi nostrum ipsa necessitatibus. Voluptatibus minus aliquam et maiores totam eaque sit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”