Didn't get a job in Finance - go to HKU and do MS Finance?

hey guys looking for advice here. will give you the low down on where i stand.

basically i finished my university degree in australia. (top uni in australia but not much reputation overseas). have tried to break into anything IBD related but no luck.

i have landed a job at a big4 firm in audit to commence in a month or so. wasn't able to score a job in finance (be it corporate finance, working at a commercial bank or IBD). the australian market is very small for IBD and the kids who get in are right at the top. to give you an idea my average is 75% which is considered a solid distinction at my uni (our gpa is on a scale out of 7... mine is 5.97 - i got too many credits and it is tarnished) and most people on australian forums reckon it is enough to get an interview at an IB (i didn't get any though) but most kids who get in will sit on at least 80% average and do a combined degree of law/commerce.

my current plan is to get my CA (preferred choice of accounting qualification here) which requires 3 years work experience and then push for a transfer into the M&A divisions at the big4. should i fail... i have no idea what to do other than go back and study.

due to my grades, i don't think i have what it takes to get into a top B-school in the US. also, i have always wanted to work in HK (canto is near non-existent though) and would consider doing a masters in finance at HKU.

is it worth doing a masters in finance at HKU after working a couple of years? i'm not aiming for the top straight away and wouldn't mind starting out in a boutique firm. the boutique firms in Aus are just as hard to get into as the BB's that operate here.

thanks and sorry for the long post

 
Best Response

to give you an idea my average is 75% which is considered a solid distinction at my uni (our gpa is on a scale out of 7... mine is 5.97

You idiot. 5.97 is nowhere high enough. And yes, I am more than familiar with your GPA scales. I also can tell you that 6.8-7.0s had trouble finding FO positions. In one particular year, DB only offered 2 IB anal positions for the whole country.

Stay at your big4 and request to be moved to transaction advisory/corp fin. You should not have a problem with the CA qualification, its just a lot of late night studying. You could then try getting a job at macquarie coz i heard that they sponsor/you can do a part time MiF with INSEAD there.

Cant say much about HKU though..

 

^from memory of applications and talking to grads scoring interviews, WAM is a more common measurement in AUS, don't hear many on australian forums mention GPA.

some ppl have even said high credit (under 70%) applicants have gotten in, but i suspect this is only at Macquarie and they had super super EC's.

btw what's the opinion on transaction services? due dilligence.... where can you end up?

 

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