Post Grad Career Advice

So I recently graduated from a T20, with solid internship experience. I feel as if I didn't apply myself as well as I could've in the early years of college, which led to me not really knowing what I really wanted to do until recently (working towards tech coverage, or tech pe, hoping to move towards climate tech vc down the road). I feel as if my options at this point (without a FT offer) are: 1) recruit for a non banking role, maybe corp dev or some type of consulting, or data analytics. What I want most of my career at this point is prestige, so I don't think this would necessarily be a step in the right direction. 2) try and get a fall banking internship at a boutique, recruit for FT25 roles while also networking during that internship. Also study for GMAT, if FT doesn't work out, apply to top Masters in Finance programs. At this point I would love advice from professionals. I'm worried to accept a job I don't want and be stuck with little to no mobility. I believe overall I failed to properly prove myself in college, and I see a masters program as another shot to do so. 

* I also just wanted to make it clear that I'm not entirely set on what I want to do with my career. I think in my first role mainly what I'm looking for is technical skills (valuation, comps, industry research) and to be surrounded by incredibly smart, hardworking people who can push me. The latter is largely one of the reasons I haven't accepted certain roles, as I feel they would actually work retroactively and prevent me from learning as much as possible in my first job. 

1 Comments
 

Ut sed voluptate eligendi. Voluptates quo sit non. Labore ullam labore occaecati et excepturi sed.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (77) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (71) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
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...”