Young Banker Wannabe

Im 17, I live in Colorado, im a high school Junior and will be going to a state school. Im new to the world of finance, know next to nothing about analysts, derivitaves, etc, but I really WANT to know. I want to get to wall street, I really want to make something of myself, but I need to know exactly what I, a middle class kid on his way to a state school, needs to do to make it into the world of Big Banking. (No, I havent seen Wolf of Wall Street). I know its going to be alot of work, but I have to start somewhere, so why not here?

5 Comments
 

Welcome! Is the state school well-regarded, or does it have a strong finance program? If not, then you will probably have to work hard to get your grades as close to a 4.0 as possible and try to transfer to a more reputable school if possible. If not, then just keep your grades up, keep up-to-date with current events and network as much as you can. Also, don't forget to enjoy yourself. These are the best years of your life and you will have the next 50-60 years to work your ass off. As for the technical knowledge, this will come once school starts and you start to study stuff on the side. Best of luck!

 

Use the search function on this site. LOTS and LOTS of threads devoted to exactly this topic. If you don't want to do that here's the short version of all of those threads:

  1. Go to a Target School. 1a. If you can't go to a target school go to the best school you can possibly get accepted to.
  2. Major in Finance.
  3. Get the highest GPA you can possibly get.
  4. Network like crazy to land an interview. (Most important if you are not at a target school.)
  5. Get lucky.

There are few positions and THOUSANDS of applicants. Even with an undergrad from Harvard and great connections a little luck is always needed.

"Everybody needs money. That's why they call it money." - Mickey Bergman - Heist (2001)
 

Welcome to WSO ! You're early in the game so learn as much as you can from this community. Before asking something, use the search function or you'll get shat on.

Don't waste your life only thinking about money and prestige
 

Older thread but I know quite a few people from UC Boulder and U of Denver that went on to work in MM banks as investment bankers. I think both schools have decent networking opportunities. As already mentioned in the thread, you're going to need as close to a 4.0 as possible and at least one high level finance internship along with a lot of hard work to get into ibanking. Luckily, there are a few very small investment banks and PE shops in Denver that hire interns regularly. Not doing an internship would be catastrophic.

One last tip: apply to as many investment banking opportunities online as possible. Don't rely on networking alone. Good luck

 

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