Public Finance/ Project Finance IB question

Hi Everyone,

I did my undergrad in Civil Engineering and now getting my masters in Env Engineering at a target school. Currently, I'm taking a class dealing with project finance (PPP's, public/infrastructure finance) and even applied to a few positions at some BB firms within their public finance group. This is gaining interest for me and I find it appealing to do infrastructure/energy finance. I believe Macquarie Bank does this very well in Australia/ UK and slowly adopting it in the states. I guess for those who are interested will have the Ibanking background and can move into a PE firm such as TableRock Capital (our guest lecturer) further in their career paths.

My main question is do they care that I have civil engineering as a background vs someone who can do modeling. I've been applying for summer analyst roles in public finance but haven't received word from them yet. Are most BB firms done conducting first rounds? Currently, I do not have any modeling background. Does that hinder my chances?

Thanks everyone for your input.

8 Comments
 

I find that engineers are better at problem solving than modelers. Some modelers try to perfect the models by far too many iterations, engineers tend to know better when to know the problem is solved. That said, they care whether you can deliver the assignment, write a few models as some practice.

It is also important to be able to describe complicated financial flows in lay terms. I agree with Scio, open up the fields that you are applying to -- its too early for you to be limited.

 

Post you resume to get some critical feedback as to why you're not getting any interviews.

 

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