IB -> Firefighter -> Business School
Hello people of WSO,
I am currently an analyst at a LMM/MM TMT focused investment bank. I am considering becoming a firefighter for various reasons (gain perspective, fun, leadership skills, learn to truly put others first, etc.), although I don't think I would want to do this forever... if I were to do this, I am curious how this would be viewed by T10 business schools. To break it down my application would look something like:
Work Experience: 2-3 years of LLM/MM IB ($50 - $300M EV) + 2 years of being a wildlands firefighter
Academic: Large state school, 3.8+ GPA, President of IB Club + couple of other leadership positions
Please let me know your thoughts on what my odds at a T10 B-School would look like. For the sake of argument lets assume 720+ GMAT
Hi Analyst 1 in IB-M&A, any of these topics helpful:
More suggestions...
You're welcome.
This might be the most unique question I've ever heard. I would assume not very well. If you're talking Harvard, Yale etc, I've heard of some people joining their MBA & JD programs after military service but never heard of a firefighter doing so. Even if you did get into their programs, it would be super unlikely that any BB or EB will hire you because unsurprisingly firefighting and finance have next to nothing in common. That's not to say you couldn't get a back office job in a bank or a role in finance at a fire department or similar. I would say to continue working as an analyst, if you want to put others first etc, join the Reserves or become a Volunteer at a hospital or something similar. If you want to do public service as a career, then that's a different story.
Dont listen to the guy above. If anything the fact that nobody has done this means you will stand out as unique.
its not that hard to get into a good b school, its only hard statistically to stay on the artificially narrow 2+2+2->vp path. Go live your life the way you know you are called to do so, because on nobody is on their deathbed saying “gee i wish i listened to that guy on WSO telling me to stay in my lane”
It certainly is not traditional but the beauty of today is admin is looking for a class from all walks of life. You are not in the same bucket and competing with the GS > Apollo candidate, rather others that have a more unconventional path. I would recommend to add more to your resume in your spare time (build a relevant stock portfolio, start a newsletter, join the board of a few non-profits, etc). Craft a killer story and I think you could have a chance.
Truthfully, I don't think many will be able to give you a solid answer here and to be honest, I think the incremental gain/loss you get from doing this is fairly minimal and likely won't impact your odds that dramatically.
On one hand, yes, you differentiate yourself by doing something different, being more unique, not being placed in the finance bucket for applications, so that's the plus.
On the other hand, as cool as being a firefighter is, it's not nearly as impressive as coming from a top tier military background, doing teach for America, etc. That's not to diminish firefighting at all, I'm just saying from an ad com perspective, they'll be able to see that you did an altruistic service oriented job for a couple of years, which is great, but that alone isn't going to get you into Harvard, the same way that being a Navy Seal is. I think also only doing 2 years and potentially not having a really strong reason why, could hurt you. If you had some story like, my xyz died in 9/11, I've always wanted to be a firefighter, etc might help more as a passion for helping others type of story, it's that doesn't come through in your application and instead reads as I kind of wanted to do something different, firefighting seemed sick, and maybe a good way for me to pivot into a top B-School when I might have been borderline otherwise then it'll just be more confusing to folks reading your application.
With that said, if you're genuinely interested, go for it, life is short, you've done a couple of years of "business" so you know what that is about. Yes, you will probably get into some T10/15 business school, will it dramatically improve/decrease your odds? Probably not assuming you are genuine and/or can spin a good story.
Last thing to think about, what do you want to do post B-School? Or what do you think you'll want to do? If PE/VC, you might want to postpone your plans until you get some pre-MBA experience in those areas first. If you just want to keep doing banking, consulting, etc then yes, you should leave now, go to B-School "young" so after 4/5 years, and then use that to pivot back into whatever you decide you want to do.
Lol you think Teach for America is more impressive than being a firefighter? I dont see it
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