DOD Internship or IBD Internship
I recently got accepted for a summer internship + Scholarship with the Department of Defense.
I also got accepted to the University of California Berkely.
Terms of Scholarship:
+ $40K Toward Tuition
+ I work for them each summer I'm in school (but a supervisor said usually only 2 - 4 summers)
+ I must have a STEM major aka Computer Science/Computer Engineering/Electrical Engineering/etc
+ I'd be obligated to work for them for 2 years at ~$60K - $80K a year with the opportunity for extension
The scholarship offers me money for tuition, job security, and a (good?) Government job. BUT, I want to be an Investment Banker. I don't have a passion for Computer Science or any STEM majors, I really like Finance. I understand it, it makes sense to me, I've been studying it for a while.
My fear is that if I take the internship/scholarship I won't be able to break into Banking. ESPECIALLY if I don't double major the required internship major with Finance. I don't want to be stuck with a Computer Science degree in 6 years, hopelessly trying to break into banking.
Which should I do?
Get an Engineering degree. Go Physics, Math, or CS if you're good at that shit. Work for the uni and government as little as possible, but take advantage of every opportunity when you do. Do a banking internship. Work in IB.
So you'll be 2 years behind your peers when you come in as an analyst, but you'll save $160K on tuition and you'll make decent money for those 2 years, so the opportunity cost isn't huge.
Or keep working at the DoD or whatever and go to grad school, then come into IB as an associate.
Thanks Cinderblock. I wrote a few research papers based on my own independent studies, which they said is the main reason they accepted me (along with the fact I know two mission critical languages). I learn things quickly and enjoy studying subjects on my own, but I'm not sure I could withstand turning what I consider a hobby into a job.
Your suggested path of Grad School to IB to come in as an Associate interests me though. I'll think about it as others chip in I presume.
But, you also mentioned coming in as an Analyst. How could I go from the DoD to an Analyst position? If I want to pursue that path should I double major with a Finance and STEM major?
You don't need a Finance degree to work in finance. I think a hiring manager would assume that someone with a STEM major and your other credentials could handle a DCF.
People go into IBD with all kinds of majors. English majors to math majors to physics majors to computer science majors. It really doesn't matter to them all that much. All that really matters is what school you go to, your GPA, your professional experiences/school activities and your ability to convey why you want to go into IBD.
A) You go to Berkeley, which is definitely a semi-target. Network some and you should be fine on that point.
B) GPA. I don't go to Berkeley but am a STEM major at a similarly grade-deflated school. Getting an IBD worthy gpa as a STEM major can be pretty difficult, especially at a place like Berkeley engineering, where getting a 3.0 is really all you need to break into good engineering jobs in Silicon Valley. This is where you may be at a disadvantage to finance majors at target schools with 3.7+.
C) This is definitely another area where you will be at a disadvantage. I don't think most IB associates post-mba were IB analysts pre-mba. I honestly think it would be stupid to go into an analyst position after working for two years at the DoD, but that's just me. I'm not sure how top mba programs would look at a DoD engineer, but if you were to get into a top program, scoring an associate IB gig is definitely possible. Given a DoD background, some PE firms that specialize in defense might be interested in you even post-mba.
D) Sort of ties into the college major piece. But as I said, people from all majors break into IB. I don't think any major really is the "go-to" major for IB. There are more finance majors in IB out of self-selection than active discrimination. Especially post-mba, your undergraduate major won't really matter. Just make sure to keep your GPA high for mba. Maybe someone else would be able to shed light on how well DoD applicants and other government sector applicants place into top mba programs.
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