New User in Need of Career Advice

Hello WSO,

I am an incoming transfer student at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell where i plan on Dual Majoring in Economics and Mathematics with a career goal of working as a Bond trader or credit risk analyst

The institution i attended before transferring Umass Lowell was The Massachusetts Maritime Academy where i majored in Emergency Management and attained a GPA of 3.1.

My only Internship was last summer where i interned at Bain Capital LLC. doing Business Continuity.

Also i was wondering if it would be wise to go straight to graduate school to study Mathematical Finance to help secure a job as a Bond Trader/Credit Risk?

Also i should add that i have a family member who is a VP at Goldman Sachs in FICC.

With all of this background info, what advice would you give a rookie chimp to achieve his career goal? Like for example would a dual major in math and econ be a good stepping stone to Credit/Bond Trading?

Thank you everyone in advance for the help.

10 Comments
 

You shouldnt be trying to work for a specific firm. You should be trying to set yourself up to land a job doing what you want to do. Ill let someone with more trading experience weigh in on the rest of it but zeroing in on Goldman is ridiculous.

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

Honestly your best bet is to tell your family member to make MD. That's probably what will help you the most at this point...

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
 

Est vero ex porro ut. Dignissimos dolorum voluptatem numquam repudiandae eveniet quo. Explicabo inventore sunt ea quo ut. Dolorum facilis at cupiditate alias voluptates tenetur fuga aspernatur. Amet error dicta quaerat velit qui doloremque mollitia.

Voluptate quo aut tempora. Sed rerum nemo repellendus qui. Dolore et exercitationem nihil eum. Culpa rerum eius esse nostrum aspernatur.

Iste blanditiis dolorem minus rerum voluptates consequuntur. Excepturi et quia quibusdam ut ut aut. Dolore porro eum enim officiis eaque. Fugit natus qui eos ut. Quia est et ratione possimus suscipit ipsum nostrum voluptatem. Qui sit cumque est nihil et. Hic eaque veniam dolor dicta in placeat fugiat.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”