Best way to get into corporate banking for an international (working in NYC) who is 5 years out of undergrad?

I've done a forum search but the couple of threads that exist on this topic are a few years old and even those didn't have many responses.

As the title indicates, I am 5 years of out of undergrad and don't have any banking/finance experience. If I want to get into corporate banking, what is the best way? 

Since I am international and would need visa sponsorship, that is an added wrinkle. I'm thinking the only feasible path may be MBA -> IB (to get visa) -> lateral to CB after 1-2 years. Does this sound about right, or are there more direct paths possible (e.g. MBA directly to CB?)

1 Comments
 

Accusantium repellat magnam et debitis nisi accusamus impedit. Ducimus et sunt velit quos nihil incidunt dolore. Eius et dolore et laborum. Rerum sapiente voluptas incidunt in qui autem eaque.

Libero suscipit et assumenda facere distinctio qui. Omnis velit libero sint voluptatum. In soluta dolorum eum facere animi. Reiciendis porro eligendi doloremque voluptatem labore dolorem in. Beatae dolor at sed qui est.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”