How bad is it to go to a semi-target school?
Good Afternoon All,
I'll be finishing my bachelors degree at Brunel University of London, which is considered a semi-target school in the world of business (to my knowledge so far). I am pursuing a degree in Economics & Mathematics with the long term goal of being able to venture off into the industry as a financial quantitative analysts within a investment bank or able to join a bank as an investment analyst.
So far I've interned at LOM Financial Group (A Brokerage firm) as a "Summer Analyst", interned at my local governments Accountant General Office as a "Financial Reporter", and am currently spending my summer at HSBC as a "Summer Analyst" within Global Markets & Financial Institutions, so I may confidently say I am off to a relatively decent start.
I'm constantly doing my best to improve, getting new certifications and experiences; and so far it has worked greatly for me. So far I have a certification within JD Edward E1, Wolfram Alpha, and Wiley. This has allowed me to land these internships and receive placement opportunities in no time.
But, to sum it short, I'd just like to ask if me not going directly to a target school will "truly" limit me in career goals and aspirations even with it being a semi-target school. I do however plan to get a masters straight after my bachelors at either Kings College, London Business Schools, or even potentially take a look at renown American business schools.
Please do leave all your input & suggestions!
I don't think i would consider Brunel as a semi-target. Look at this list for UK target/semi target rankings: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/school/uk-target-schools-tier-lis…;
You are off to a pretty good start, what exactly is it that you want to do in the future? If it is IB, trying to do a Masters at King's doesn't do you any favours and even going to the US won't help you a lot unless it's from a Target there (think Harvard, Stanford, Wharton etc). If you want to see which schools are actually targets in the US, look here: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/school/undergraduate-target-schoo…;
Ty to convert your SA role in HSBC to FT because it sounds like a good role and also apply to BBs using your experience. As for boutique applications, Panmure Gordon could be worth a try. If you want to go into Quant, ER, CO, etc, it's a bit different. Basically it depends on your career goals & aspirations.
Hey, none of those links work. When it comes to US schools I've started to look at Harvard Business, Cornell, and Princeton.
I am looking to be able to get into Private Equity and/or Investment Banking in the future (my priority). However, if all else fails I'd be more than willing to go into wealth management or work at a Brokerage.
Assuming "FT" means full-time, my supervisor at HSBC has been well impressed with me, and has given me the opportunity to come back this winter break again. If I am able to flip it into a full-time opportunity that would be great upon graduating that would be great!
Try this for UK Targets: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/school/uk-target-schools-tier-list-2020 and this for US Targets: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/school/undergraduate-target-schools-tier-list-2021-updates
Harvard and Princeton will be good options but again working in IB vs PWM is very different and switching from PWM to PE is very hard as well. You can also apply to PE Firms directly. Flipping that HSBC to a FT opp will be amazing so you should try that. Not sure about comp in HSBC but won't be as high compared to GS or in PE but will still be a great start. Using that HSBC experience, you could either move within HSBC (they have all divisions like GS so you could work in PWM) or exit t a PE firm depending on other factors like deal experience and network. If you want to work in PWM from the start, it will be a totally different thing to what you are doing now so just keep that in mind but if you like the HSBC role and have the opportunity to take the FT role, take it and see from there based on your targets after getting the role.
Thanks!
I have had an offer opportunity to dabble in wealth management but I declined, as Global Markets seemed more like the direct pathway for me into IB. I know HSBC isn't known for investment banking, but they certainly are far from the worse.
But to clarify, will me attending Brunel harm me in the long run? I can arguably say a lot of famous traders/investors have come from Brunel; i.e Nav (if you consider him good) is probably the most famous one. I had the idea I can get my bachelors done at a "good" school and then complete my masters at a far more reputable one.
So Global Markets at HSBC is similar to S&T at other firms which I would say is a pretty good start and I personally would prefer it over IB. If you want to end up at IB, it would hamper your progress by going to a non-target and paired with the fact you're starting essentially in S&T, it would be much harder to break into IB. But after the Senior Associate level, the university stuff has a lot less to do with your career so you would find it easier to switch. Additionally, if you wanted to, you probably to switch over HF or Prop or Market Makers after your work in S&T if you perform well and in Prop firms, your degree matters less overall anyways.
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