Career Trajectory for a College Student

Background: I am a nontraditional college student (public service prior to undergrad) that is currently a sophomore with the goal of working in one of the following 3 industries longterm career wise: debt/equity placement, real estate credit (structured lending/dislocated debt), debt origination. I'm at a bit of a crossroads where I'm not sure which direction I would like to pursue and what the standard career paths to and in each of these industries looks like.

Experience: Have had brief intern experience at a hedgefund and currently working/interning part time on a distressed real estate start up that I'll likely have some equity in and will be full time over this summer. Also have all the requisite extracurriculars.

I missed much of the institutional summer 2027 internship recruiting (Blackstone, KKR, etc.) due to getting a late start in catching up on the finance sector as a whole. Have some opportunities to recruit in the fall for some larger capital markets internships (Newmark, EastDil, CBRE, etc.) for my summer 2027 internship, but wanted hear anyone's thoughts on how to break into the aforementioned 3 industries given my background and later recruiting process. 

Appreciate the responses and good word in advance and apologies if I misunderstand any of the industry specific terms. Thanks!

1 Comments
 

Ratione blanditiis dolorem ut atque. Esse repellendus quis et animi. Repellat architecto consequuntur sed quidem enim quam.

Nisi quia saepe voluptas mollitia earum necessitatibus cum. Id at expedita eius deleniti dolorem ut. Eaque quis laboriosam fuga facere. Aliquam libero soluta reiciendis accusantium nobis.

Ad omnis accusamus libero et animi voluptas dolor tempora. Animi qui qui cumque nulla. Fuga quo cum ut.

Quasi deserunt in assumenda consequatur sint. Est cumque magnam esse dicta sequi quis. Libero qui ducimus sed enim et quo esse. Soluta voluptate officiis qui facilis.

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 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 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 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
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...”