Masters in Finance chances (engineering student)

Hi, I'm looking for some advice.

I'm an engineering student looking to get into a pre-experience Masters in Finance in order to work in IB. I'm mostly looking at masters programs in the EU, because they are cheaper than in the US (I can't afford to spend more than ~CAD 80K for the year).

Some programs I'm considering:

  • Oxford MSc Financial Economics
  • LSE MSc in Finance
  • LBS Masters in Financial Analysis
  • HEC Paris MSc in International Finance

Profile: Canadian citizen, 24 years old (started university late), Caucasian Bachelor in Chemical Engineering at a top Canadian target for BB (GPA: 3.80/4.00), graduating in April 2017 GMAT: 780 (Q51 V48 IR8 AWA6.0) Experience: oil and gas (16 mo internship), pharma (4 mo internship), academic research (8 mo) ECs: several student groups that provide consulting services, student investment fund (starting this fall)

My plan:

1) Get accepted into a Masters in Finance 2) Leverage current school's target status to get an SA IBD position 3) Complete the Masters degree and get a full-time IBD position (location: London, Toronto, or New York)

My questions for you:

1) Can I realistically get into these programs (given that I don't have any finance experience)? 2) Is it possible to get a full-time position in London (given that I don't have UK/EU citizenship)? Will banks sponsor an expat?

Thank you in advance for your responses!

3 Comments
 

North America will be tough. You will have unlimited opportunities in London though. I wouldn't apply to HEC because of the brexit and stringent labor policy. Consider Imperial. Great solid program. All of them are great programs. Oxford and LBS's are academically better though. Also, forget about SA while at Oxford or Imperial . Both programs are very demanding and Oxford don't let you live outside of Oxford during the program, let alone work. Why don't you try to land non paid IB internship at boutique before the program? Much better than having no Internship

 

Omnis consequatur est eius at est qui ipsam praesentium. Eum porro eos quo hic ea quia quod. Hic beatae rerum et velit. Quis numquam quidem nam dolorum. Ut qui dolor molestiae. Eligendi itaque unde laboriosam et quis tempora ut aut. Autem tempore sequi exercitationem non.

Id beatae culpa occaecati omnis. Quia impedit aut qui rerum provident. Blanditiis cupiditate unde id aperiam occaecati. Voluptas ullam qui reprehenderit quia omnis in.

Veniam quas in aut et. Atque voluptatem dolorum assumenda libero eum assumenda est delectus. Quia sunt quaerat repellendus consequatur.

Quod fugiat est vero aut accusamus. Rerum voluptas possimus beatae reiciendis voluptate inventore quo. Iure ut nihil quo et aliquam voluptas necessitatibus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 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

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...”