Profile evaluation/advice, MSc Finance

Hi all,

I need some advice on picking the right MSc in Finance in Europe. I'd like to pursue a career in IB or asset management.

non-EEA BSc Economics - #1 school in my country, top 5% of my class 770 GMAT Solid extracurriculars (case study club, many competitions etc) 1 summer not finance related internship

Thanks!

7 Comments
 

Thanks for the feedback. I always wanted to end up in Europe, but I'm still trying to figure out what does it take to get an internship/a job as a non-EEA national (in other words, how averse are employers to sponsorship-requiring applicants).

LSE is an amazing program from what I've heard, Warwick as well. How do you feel about Uni Bocconi/HEC/St Gallen for that matter?

 

Not sure how sponsorship for non-EU students is for the EU but when I was applying to firms none would sponsor for the US so I would imagine it's similar in the EU (but check)

The other unis you mentioned are good and from my experience (talking to friends that have gone there). St Gallen is very big mainly for working in the DACH region. HEC and Bocconi are the best in their countries and seen as semi-targets in Europe. Having said that, a lot of Italians in London have come from Bocconi whilst with the French there is more diversity and not many come from HEC; a lot come from other business or engineering schools

 
Best Response

As a non-EEA, the only real job market for you is London, followed by Zurich (finance), Dublin (tech), Berlin (start-up) and Amsterdam (HF and some AMs). These are cities where you can get a job w/o speaking the local language. In your chosen field, it's really just London, Zurich and Amsterdam. With that in mind, i would go to uni in the UK. It's much easier getting a work visa having studied here (it is just how it is). Other countries in Europe are very flexible but you can always fly there to interview/move there. There is also no point going to Bocconi or even HEC even though both are top top schools. They will say their students get jobs everywhere (read: London) but those students are Italian or French or at least EEA...They are not talking about you. Try asking them for their non-EEA stats and they will just...stop talking. It goes w/o saying that you cannot compete with these students in their home market.

You have really solid stats and you should definitely get at least 1 offer from Oxbridge/LSE/LBS/Imperial. Maybe 1 thing to improve and this will be of real benefits once you start FT recruiting, is to get a finance internship before your MSc. WBS (Warwick) would be OK too but they are simply not as good in terms of placing international students into UK-based jobs.

If you are serious about moving and working in Europe, i would not bother going to a semi target. You will not get an IB job out of that. There are simply too many people! A quick look at this link shows Cass business school alone has >3.5K postgraduate students. The whole school (across subjects) also has >3K of non-EEA students. This is just 1 school. London is small, it's not like the US... you get the picture.

https://www.city.ac.uk/about/facts-and-achievements/student-statistics#…

 

Sunt voluptatem repellat expedita rerum. Repudiandae perspiciatis sequi harum. Omnis deserunt id aut fuga sed voluptas sit.

Omnis aut aut consequatur et odit minima reprehenderit. Ipsum quam eos adipisci laboriosam sapiente corporis id. Qui et repellendus magni deleniti eligendi minus.

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 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 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 (68) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”