Recent Graduate Here
I just got my bachelors in May. Problem is, I went to an unknown online school, majored in psychology, and my GPA there was only a 3.27. I virtually have no work experience but I am very interested in a career in wall street/investment banking/consulting. I’m just seeking an honest opinion as to whether or not I should be looking for a different career path. Plus, I’m horrible at math. I failed statistics and accounting in college. Any opinions are appreciated.
Take a CFA exam to get some finance pedigree.
I would try getting a non-paid intern at some boutique, you might get lucky. Meanwhile, start study for subjects while you have the time. Write your CFA L1 this December and if you pass go for L2 in June 2014. Also, perhaps try writing the GMAT sometime either later this year or next.
Teach your self some IB! Some good books are: The Practitioners Guide to Investment Banking... Author: Castillo & McAniff. Another good IB book is from Rosenbaum & Pearl. I would simultaneously buy a financial modeling book that teaches you step-by-step how to model. Sengupta writes good books but check out others as well.
Hope this helps friend
oh and ps: you don't need to be good at math to do well in IB..... Excel does most of the math for you. You just have to understand the conceptual framework surrounding it
I just looked up the CFA and it says, "pass three levels of exams covering areas such as accounting, economics, ethics, money management and security analysis." When I say I'm bad at math, I really mean that I'm BAD.
And would it really be possible for me to get an internship when I'm not in school? I've read that only current college students can do internships.
I just applied for 2 positions at Vanguard as a Client Relationship Specialist. I'd applied for one other about 1 month ago but got rejected, so I just applied at the 2 other locations
You have a long road ahead of you at best. Good luck.
You failed accounting at an online school but want to work on wall street? Find another career path man, seriously. Don't waste your time.
This is what I meant but tried to put it lightly, OP.
I attended 2 different schools. I failed accounting at an on campus school.
Would the position I listed earlier with Vanguard seem good?
I would agree with yeahright.
Although you probably don't have to be a maths whizz to be good at investment banking, if you failed statistics and accounting it probably says you are not comfortable with numbers.
In addition to that, if candidates from top schools are having difficulty getting into wall street/IB/consulting, it will be extremely tough for you.
The position with Vanguard sounds like a customer service/admin role with a fancy title. However, I have known people to go from roles like that and move up in a company whilst studying CFA.
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