looking for education/career advice

Hello everyone

I am 21 years old and currently in my junior year of college, earning a bachelors in Finance. I go to a University in the CSU system (California State University) so my school is not going to open any doors for me. I currently have a GPA of 3.5. I did a year long internship with Northwestern Mutual, received an important intern award with them and was ranked nationally. The internship was marketed to me as financial planning, but really all I did was sell insurance. I am involved with the Financial Management Association at my school, currently Vice President and I will probably be President my senior year. I have been studying trading and technical analysis for a few years now, and have traded a live account for about a year and half. I realize that I have an extremely difficult task ahead of me if I want to break into the finance world, and I realize that I did not choose the best path education wise to become a trader (math+computer science in more demand). Ideally, I want to trade and manage a fund. But I know that this will take years of work to accomplish. Right now I am at a crossroads and I am not entirely sure what I want to do next.

I have been looking into getting my masters in international finance after my bachelors through this program, http://www.extendeded.com/msba/. How valuable do you think this degree is in the world of finance? and how does it match up with an MBA?

Another option would be to add a minor in computer science to my degree. This would take 1 year which is the same time it would take for the above masters program. If I was to get another bachelors degree in computer science after my Finance degree it would take about 3 years. I could also just teach myself C++.

I have pretty much ruled out getting hired as a trader out of college. I am not sure if I should try to jump into the corporate world. One option I have instead of this would be to get a financial analyst job for a small farming or oil company in my hometown. Upside, is that I could continue building a track record and study for my CFA. Downside, I am taking a big risk and possibly going down a career path I don't want. The reason I have come up with this idea is because I know I don't have big city connections or an ivy league degree. If I ever start a fund myself I would use my hometown connections. If I never am able to trade a fund, I would be happy doing research as a financial analyst for a fund.

I know that time is valuable and whatever path I chose has certain risks attached, and I am trying to assess my different options. I would greatly appreciate any career/education input and advice.

Thanks in advance

1 Comments
 
Best Response

Temporibus vel consequatur quaerat in vel. Recusandae esse facere itaque laboriosam.

Pursuit of happiness...

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”