In need of some serious guidance

What up gents,

I really don't wana write a novel as I'm sure a lot of you have read some of my previous posts but i'm lost in the world of IB, specifically ER and S&T. I graduated this past october from a non target school with a poli sci degree and really wana work in IB.

This may seem kinda untraditional but what is the likelyhood of me getting an internship this summer at an boutique in my city even though i've already graduated?

In addition... will having level 1 behind me give me some substance or am i screwed with this grummy degree next to my name and should look at some masters programs...?

8 Comments
 

i dont think you can get an internship if you've already graduated. anyway, your major shouldnt be a big deal. Hopefully you have a high gpa.

 
Best Response

You've got to give some more specifics, here is what I have from you so far:

RBC Dominion Securities PoliSci major, non target (need GPA, and how non-target? give us a range of schools it falls in using US News rankings) Studying for Level 1 CFA

  1. CFA will not get you a job.
  2. Do you have any extracurricular activities? If not, get something good going.
  3. You probably won't be able to land an internship. I could be wrong, but as you've already been working that would put you in a situation I've never heard of
  4. MBA is always the best option for a career change. You probably can't get in a top program as it is. If you can get in a regionally-targeted MBA program, you might as well go for it. The other option is to suck it up for another year and a half or two years, get some extracurricular activity going (start a business, start a non-profit, start SOMETHING, itll show leadership and motivation for business schools).

Lastly, start reading these forums. There is a lot of information on here that will help you understand how bankers think and why you're not a great candidate now and what can make you a great candidate. Pay particular attention to people with gold stars. I'm not in the industry, FYI.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

@D M I'm in Canada, so the rankings of schools here are a bit different. As you probably already know theres 4 good business programs in the country (ivey, schulick, rotman and queens) and i didn't go to any of them (i.e. poli sci); however, I did go to a good school, have some solid reference letters, and am sitting on a 3.1/3.2ish. I also did an internship an internship a couple summers ago for a highly regarded boutique mutual fund company. So thats my background i guess.

In terms of extra curriculars, I ran an investment club in UG and right now i manage my own portfolio along with my parents.

The city i'm in only has so many places and i;ve already been everywhere trying to get something. I blew an interview in early january due to lack of knowledge so ever since then i've been studying for the cfa like a dog. Hence why i'm trying to gun for something in the summer but i don't think thats highly likely. But i really thought that having L1 behind me will have some decent substance, esp for a liberal arts grad

basically what i comprehend from what you wrote though is i'm... temporarily screwed lol.

 

Finishing level one, with a prior internship and current experience at DS will allow you to move into a job that is more closely related to what you want to do. In 2-3 years you can complete a couple of levels of the CFA, get a good gmat score, work experience and then apply for an MBA at Rotman, Ivey and Schulich if you havent gotten the kind of role you want.

The other thing I would say is that try to learn as much as you can about the market at your current job. Its what you make of it, im sure there is a ton of research and modelling tools for you to become familiar with, as well as networking opportunities with RBC Capital Markets and PH&N.

 

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