Need your advice on my life path

I need your help to continue my life path:
summary:
I come from a low-middle family with both parents who were not college students but still raised me decently. I was always surrounded by friends who said school was useless and that crap there that you think when you're young but you don’t anything.
I finish high school with difficulty, flunking out once and not really knowing what to do with my life, I enroll in the university in my city (not target, European city) starting business administration thinking that I would make a normal life in a normal company and maybe one day open my own business, so I never paid attention to grades, but staying average anyway.
But here's the turning point: I decide to go abroad to study in the middle of my sophomore year, and of course life overwhelms me all at once! I meet 2 nice French guys who explain to me the world of finance, what opportunities it offers and how it can help you. Something clicks inside me, I take exams in corporate finance and financial math: fantastic, amazing.
I realize that I want to do m&a for at least the next 10 years and get into IB, proving to myself that I can do it and being average is comfortable, but doing more gives much more adrenaline.
However, I realize that my actions have had consequences, my GPA is average and I can't raise it much higher with the last exams.
so here is the point where I ask you experts in life and work, what would you pick in my shoes at 23 years old?
A. Apply to master's programs in management at target schools in which i can pick as many finance exams as possible + (Working something finance related from april to sept)
B. Apply to master’s program in finance at T3 (think nova)
C. Working in finance related, maybe finding an M&A boutique while preparing for gmat or CFA level 1 and then apply to a Msc in finance (think of IE, ESSEC, ESADE, EDHEC…)

 
Most Helpful

I would probably go for option A: there are good msc in management that guarantee good placement and you can take finance exams of course, working in the meantime is a plus. You need to see where you can get your foot in tho, or if you need a GMAT.

If you're very very motivated and willing to work hard long term, I think option C is the one that gives you the highest reward, but also higher risks: preparing a gmat while working full time at a boutique is not easy (also depending on average working hours), but that work experience + good Msc Fin give you good opportunities. Another con is that this strategy will prob take longer, that's why you need to be focused and convinced.

Your age matters up to a point: if your story makes sense, it should be fine.

I would start some serious networking too, can go a long way. 

 

Aut quo quia qui omnis ea est minima. Molestiae tempore voluptatem et consequatur aut delectus optio. Vel laudantium quis illo et nihil commodi.

Voluptatem aliquam cum rerum quidem. Provident quo fugit repellendus quisquam et non. Quos non eos ut aut dolorem consequatur iste. Autem deserunt et autem tempore praesentium est magnam facilis. Assumenda cum eveniet eaque ad amet numquam ipsum.

Vero neque totam dolores cumque veniam perspiciatis. Incidunt facere voluptatum reprehenderit. Consequatur possimus iusto quos qui doloremque qui consequatur. Sint aliquam aliquid delectus rerum. Quia quos cumque id error voluptatem rerum possimus. Iusto natus aut assumenda animi aut quidem perspiciatis.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”