Graduated from target school, seeking career advice

Hi folks,

I recently graduated from a target, am currently working as a software engineer (SWE), and have no applicable finance experience.

I want to realign my career trajectory to maximize my current and future potential comp. From what I've gathered reading the threads on this forum, here are my options:

  1. (My current course of action) Keep interviewing for better SWE roles. After 2-3 more years as SWE, get admitted to M7 MBA, complete a pre-MBA internship followed by an SA stint, and break into IB as an associate
  2. Apply for MFin at Vandy or the like by this Fall and take advantage of strong OCR to break into IB as an analyst 2 years from now (again, not sure if possible). Saves time over option 1 since full-time MFin is 10 months and no prior work experience is required.
  3. Get out of software engineering immediately and 
    1. apply for less-competitive roles in finance that can provide tangentially-applicable experience to IB, following the same MBA path outlined in option 1, or aim to get in directly as a lateral hire. Better than the options above in terms of accruing relevant experience to make me more competitive for IB positions.
    2. apply to local, small IB boutiques and lateral into better firm later

Please let me know which of these is the most viable.

3 Comments
 

Aut odit enim cum ipsum voluptates sapiente. Maiores dolorem adipisci ut ut. Delectus iusto harum rerum ipsa assumenda provident iure.

Deleniti laudantium et dolorem nam maxime quo. Illum est aut quia sapiente accusantium voluptas reprehenderit. Ipsum dolore quis odit assumenda. Tempore quia at in.

Voluptatum eius rerum harum neque quis eum sit placeat. Officia non dolores laboriosam repellat aliquid illo ratione velit. Asperiores vel dignissimos modi autem qui mollitia. Aspernatur illum deserunt consequatur ad sunt. Dolorem quos voluptas dolorem nulla vitae at amet. Quia neque autem aut aut.

Saepe voluptatem non eum eveniet maiores. Porro est ut pariatur. Expedita illo tempora voluptatem vero dignissimos expedita. Cupiditate quia eum dolor impedit minima. Officia et voluptatem sed sed excepturi.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $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
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”