A 20-year-old in need of advice...

I need some advice on what do in my situation since I don't have anyone else to ask.

I am about to start my last year as an applied computer science student at the University of Leeds and I want to do a finance-related masters degree.

My biggest issue is that I absolutely hate living in the UK and I really want to move to the United States. The thing is that there are not that many MSF's in the US and I won't be able to finance my studies there because the US does not give postgrad loans to EU/International students.

I have been thinking about applying for some of the masters offered by some of EU's target schools but I don't want to work in the EU. Should I do an EU masters, work here for a year and try to get an internal transfer to a US office? Would that be a viable plan?

4 Comments
 
Best Response

It certainly is possible, but there are a lot of 'ifs'. One of the key things to consider is that in addition to getting a well-recognised Master's programme, you should be looking to obtain relevant finance experience., if you do not have some already The combination of the two should put you in a decent position to obtain a graduate / entry-level role in London. Most of the large institutions (big 4, IBs, MNCs) will have a significant enough US presence, but you should look at the ones that have a track record of sending junior employers to their other international offices. In terms of getting a Master's in Europe, look mainly at the top-tier ones such as HEC Paris, Bocconi, SSE, St. Gallen, ESSEC, ESCP, IE, RSM, WHU, Mannheim that will be recognised by London recruitment teams. Some of these will be 2 years in length, instead of one, but that might actually be beneficial for you in case you wanted the opportunity to apply for an internship before going for a full-time role. Many students from continental European Master's end up working in the UK.

 

Thanks for reaching out. Can I ask you to give me a profile evaluation please? I would really appreciate your insight on this topic.

 

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