Struggling immigrant looking for advice: US to Canada - How to break into buy-side in Canada?

Seeking advice/insights on:

  1. Best MBA/Master’s programs in Canada for buy-side recruitment.
  2. Is it possible at all to land a buy-side role straight out of a master/MBA in Canada, without pre-MBA associate buy-side experience?
3 Comments
 

what country are you from? canada's immigration policy is a mess right now. you might have it easier since you're doing a high skilled profession, but even then, there's no guarantee of easy permanent residence. from what i hear online, most companies no longer hire international students, so it would be a huge risk to leave your mbb job when you're not even guaranteed a job in canada.

are you still at MBB? try to request a transfer and see how it goes. also, i would look at a country that isn't having an immigration crisis right now. UK, australia, nordics, germany, benelux, france, they're all doing far better than canada. in asia, singapore would be good. dubai is good but you won't become a citizen there.

 

Do not come to Canada. It’s a complete shit show. No jobs, and high competition for low wages. Just don’t fucking come. Do an MBA in the US and try your best to stay there. I don’t care if you get yourself in debt just stay the fuck there. Marry an American do something - there are degenerates on 90 day fiancé who get green cards, figure out a way to get one.

 

Odio amet at maxime rerum. Sit delectus ducimus earum modi architecto doloremque et. Quia in hic laborum dolorem facere. Et maxime provident voluptate.

Fugiat dolores eligendi eos recusandae quasi et a. Voluptates ipsa ea repudiandae aperiam illum. Error est molestiae qui officiis.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”