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Fuck that, keep pushing man. You only need one opportunity to make it happen. Keep going at it, nothing good comes easy.
I'm still a college student, so take everything I say with a grain of salt if you feel so inclined. But the first thing you need to realize is that this website is not a completely accurate representation of the industry, and many of the users are finance hardos that live their life chasing prestige and a perceived sense of "perfection". It can be easy to look at your past and feel dissuaded when you compare yourself to some of the posts on here, but you have to remember that not everyone who made it into the industry is some superstar student from HYP with 6 internships and 3.9 GPA.
If you are looking to go the MBA route and are struggling with the GMAT, give the GRE a shot, it's accepted at most top programs now. But even if you want to stick with the GMAT, you have to try and get out of the mindset of "I can't break past 670" or a mindset of giving up. You have to stay dedicated to studying and leveraging all the study resources available to you, but you also need to be in the right mental state to conquer the exam. Success isn't just a mixture of blind luck and skill, it's also about mental strength and fortitude. Once you begin doubting yourself, you are doomed to fail. You need to re-evaluate what it is you want to do, formulate a plan to get there, and establish realistic and stretch goals. If you want to break into Investment Banking, you shouldn't be hyper-focused on top BBs and EBs, or even BBs and EBs only. MM banks are a great platform and are often more receptive to less traditional backgrounds, especially the ones deemed as "tier-2 and below" by the users on here. If you don't get into an M7 business school, you're not completely screwed. Some T15s and T25s still place very well, especially regionally, and even some T50s have strong pipelines that you can take advantage of to certain banks. You just have to be willing to not fall into the prestige-chasing rabbit hole.
If you are looking to lateral from your current role, you certainly face an uphill battle given current economic conditions, but there are definitely people that have lateraled into IB from other financial fields without an MBA at the analyst level. You will most likely lateral in at the 1st year level, but that's the price to pay. I don't know how common it is at BBs and EBs, but I have certainly seen people at MMs and local boutiques with backgrounds in niche consulting or commercial banking lateral in at the analyst level without an MBA.
This is a long post, but if there is anything you should take away from it is that you can't allow yourself to feel dissuaded or hopeless. You need to be patient and realize that sometimes things take time and you have to be creative in how you achieve certain goals, as well as realizing that you can't be hyper-focused on top firms only.
Thank me later.
You must be fun at parties bro
People love a good underdog story. Grind and earn your opportunity.
I gave up. I was four years out of undergrad, I had tried on and off for five years to get a Front Office job of any kind. Over a thousand applications, 100+ cold calls. I had a low GPA from a state school, I was terrible at interviewing, I had little in the way of network. I was working at a corporate finance job I was stuck in and was applying to almost any job trying to get out. I felt really sorry for myself.
One day I decided to give it one last run, I spent hours on my resume and got it professionally reviewed on here. I thought through my strengths, wrote down a targeted list of Banks and teams I wanted to work and could add immediate value and started sending targeted cold emails. Not hundreds this time. 10. The 10 that I could add the most value to. One of them picked up my resume, he was an MD who had a tough run on the street but had bounced back to a BB. He gave me a chance.
Now im in my second year at a top Hedge Fund, my experience here and working for my former employer have been invaluable. My career is forever changed for the better. Im happier, more fulfilled and feel as if all the pain I went through was more than worth it. I love my job and im surrounded by those who love investing as much as I do. Its competitive and meritocratic, what you put in is what you get.
Dont worry though, you can give up. Its so easy. Trust me.