Seeking Advice - Will take any and all!
This is a long one so bear with me! I attended college traditionally out of high school for 3 years, did a trash job with a dumb plan/ useless degree so I decided to join the military. I've served for 5 years now and I'm coming up on the end of my time in the service and have discovered over the years that I really enjoy finance as a whole. About two years into the military I went back to school online for finance and have been taking about two classes each semester, which I've really enjoyed! The plan is to go back to school full time this upcoming fall and I have ~2 years left until I have my bachelors (at a non-target school). Over the past few years I've really enjoyed learning more about investment banking, and really think I'd enjoy the work. Although, I still have a lot to learn, I was really wanting to know if that's even an avenue I could consider this late into my undergrad plan to pursue IB as a career.
Some of the main concerns/questions I have:
- My GPA is atrocious. Currently I'm sitting at a 2.7, and it has been an uphill battle of making A's every semester to try to balance out the awful grades I made when I was 18-20. I really screwed myself by ALMOST getting a degree and having all the extra classes on my transcript with piss-poor grades. I've done the math and continuing on the trend of making A's for the next two years, the highest GPA I could graduate with is a 3.18.
- I have had no internships, and given my bad GPA, the chance of getting a summer internship over people that have already been networking and already done 2-3 internships seems extremely unlikely.
- It seems like every other forum I go to, people flip on whether people should or should not go the business school route. Just wondering what would be the best option for my situation. If I could blow the GMAT out of the water and get accepted to a target school, would that be the route to take?
Really just looking for any and all opinions and advice. Just want to get a head-start on any planning or preparation I need to do. Even if it's an uphill battle, if the end result is in IB, I'd really love to try for it. If you read this far I appreciate it!
It sounds like IB is unlikely unless you get into a top MBA program.
Fair enough! I appreciate the comment.
You need to figure out what you really want to pursue. If IB is it, then go for it! The GPA is quite low, but some firms will likely be willing to overlook that. Are you recruiting for next summer? If so, that's great. You have plenty of time to start networking and preparing for interviews! Focus on networking with other veterans!!! I got three IB offers for this summer despite only having 1 finance-related internship. Stop thinking about business school. Figure out what you need to do NOW to get to where you want to go. Since you still have 2 years left, you have plenty of time to get your shit together. If you're recruiting for this summer, it's obviously too late & you instead need to focus on getting an internship for next summer. Also don't shy away from recruiting at local smaller boutique banks. Best of luck. Now get to work.
I'm definitely interested in next summer's recruiting. Just doing as much research as I can to try to keep up with what seems to be the increasingly earlier and earlier recruiting process so I can get the ball rolling. Three IB offers is awesome, kudos on that! I really appreciate your insight and response!
Get a stepping stone job in credit, small asset manager, search fund… ANYTHING to get your foot in the door. Work there for one or two years then lateral to IB. I was on the same boat GPA-wise. At this point getting your foot in the door is all that matters. Idk what the situation would be with grad school and the GI bill but if your expenses are covered for grad school through the GI bill, then I'd study my ass off for the GMAT, get an internship or two while in grad school, then out of grad school go to IB. Also, like one of the other comments said: figure out what you want to do in finance NOW. You can’t afford to waste time. Explore your options and pull the trigger
Solid advice. I appreciate the response! I wouldn't be opposed to getting a stepping stone job to get my foot in the door. That's solid advice and I'll have to look into that. I'm definitely going to continue studying for the GMAT and continue doing so with classes over the next year or so.
Any interest in VC? A guy I know is ex-military and tries to help out when people are transitioning back to civilian life. I’d target smaller banks, in all honesty where I’m at we might be interested since the military experience is atypical for applicants.
Check out sitreps_to_steercos on instagram - tons of resources for just this profile, you have a lot more options thank you likely think.
I'll give the page a look! I appreciate it!
If I'm being honest I know very little about VC and haven't looked too much into it career-wise. But it definitely seems interesting! I'll definitely consider targeting smaller banks. That's seeming to be a trend in the advice given here and probably my best bet!
Try to network with vets who work in the industry (there are quite a few). While they might not be able to get you a job at their firm they can at least point you in the right direction, tell you how they broke into the industry, and refer you someone they know that is hiring. Having military service in common is probably a much stronger connection than being in the same Ivy League finance club.
I'll definitely have to start networking more with vets. You're totally right, any advice or shared experience they might have could be super beneficial. I appreciate it!
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