Masters or IB

I am about to be a senior at UWMadison and currently have an internship at a small investment bank in chicago this summer. I was wondering what the best oath would path to take would be. Would it be to go get a masters at an Ivy League right after graduating, work here for 2 years and then get the masters, or strive for an offer at a big bulge bracket and potentially get a masters after 2 years from there. Please let me know your thoughts.

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What type of masters are you trying to get? If you're already on the path to IB, there's really no benefit of post-grad. it's very expensive and the only degree that has value in finance is an MBA. You'd need 2-3 years of work experience to even apply to top MBAs, and you'd come out with an associate job after $200k and years of school later. Analyst to associate at a BB is an automatic promotion in most cases, so ultimately a step backwards to do an MBA if you are already headed that direction. Most people who do an MBA are doing it because they started in an unrelated career and need the MBA to switch to finance. 

It seems like you just want the ivy league brand - once you get into IB that really does not matter. Focus on your career instead of spending extra money on school that won't get you any farther. Even if you don't get the BB offer and start at a smaller bank, that still puts you in a position to lateral up down the road.

 

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