Trying to go into investment banking after college but also joining Marines officer reserves.. opinions

I plan on pursuing a bachelors degree in bus admin: finance whilst also participating in officer candidate school to be commissioned as reservist. Marines contract is 8 years and requires myself to work two days out of every month of the year for my regiment. Plus, I’d miss out on possible internships due to 6 week trainings sophomore, junior summers. Senior year would be the basic school, and my military occupation school. I am pursuing towards becoming a financial analyst in NYC , opinions, thoughts?

7 Comments
 

Keep in mind the military won’t give a fuck about your IB job. The needs of the Marine Corps > everything else. You just need to understand that.

Personally, I don’t think this is possible. It’s not always a bad idea to serve Active Duty and then get an MBA or such afterwards. I’ve seen plenty of people like that on LinkedIn who absolutely crush it.

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

Honestly yeah this is a tried and true route: Active Duty Officer -> as good of an MBA program you can get into -> see if you still want to do IB and if so can go to Associate level (other options: Consulting, Tech Product Management, Fortune 500 leadership program). You'll have 6 years of savings and free master's tuition to change your life up, as well as the optionality to stay in the services, and other exit options for veterans.

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

I’ve had about three conversations about this plan going into reserves while also being in finance working in the city; two being with my officer selection officer and the other with a SSgt. Both assuming my choice of being reserve component and saying it would be capable to pull off. I feel as if active duty might provide more liabilities (Actives Stationed anywhere, Reserves choose where they want to station)

 

A few points:

  1. I’m not a veteran, I looked into joining but just didn’t. No grand story, I just didn’t feel like doing it. I guess I wasn’t as passionate about it as I once thought.

  2. I’m not a banker either.

My experience with the USMC is limited to my father (who served active duty and then reserves after) and just me talking to recruiters and OSOs.

OSOs are salesmen at the end of the day. Just keep in mind they may not be completely upfront with the difficulties. Talk to people actually doing what you plan on doing.

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 
Most Helpful

Molestias quae voluptas earum sed et rerum repellendus. Aut aut nesciunt et dolorum dignissimos atque.

Quo sit dolorum et optio. Autem qui et voluptas ducimus voluptatem. Voluptatum voluptates iste enim dolores accusantium alias.

Voluptatem necessitatibus et culpa magnam aliquid. Ipsa rerum sapiente nihil sint. Aut voluptatem dolorem debitis nobis explicabo.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”