Should I pursue an MSF or stick it out and try for a top MBA?
I graduated last May and have been working for a F500 biotech company in their pricing group. I’m mainly doing contract compliance, weekly sales reports, and some other monthly and quarterly calculations for them. I’ve had the opportunity to build out a couple models for, and produce actual work, but so far my job has essentially been “Copy and Paste” along with the occasional reconciliation. I’m not really developing any transferrable skills.
My goal is IB, but my undergrad was a non-flagship state school (80% acceptance, no OCR, no clubs, etc.). With that said, I have no alumni in high finance to reach out to.
My undergrad grades were good, 3.92 GPA Summa Cum Laude, I’d have one year of work experience, and I’m condident I can get at least a 700 on the GMAT.
Is an MSF right for me? I feel like I’ll be fighting an uphill battle with the lack of prestige from my undergrad school and work experience.
The odds of using an MSF to break into IB are not great for you. Why not do a top MBA? Or lateral in as an analyst right now? The MBA rebrand is probably your best bet.
I feel like there’s nothing really special about my background that would get me into a top MBA in a couple years. State school, BO at a F500 seem pretty vanilla to me for T15 programs.
I’ve been thinking about trying to lateral in as an analyst, but not too sure how to go about it without any alumni.
Would it be weird to just cold email people I have no connections with? I know BB is out, so I think some smaller boutiques and middle market might be my best bet with that route.
You'd be surprised. There's a lot of hype around MBA admissions. Schools outside the top 7 really aren't that selective if you have good academic credentials and a good GMAT. That said, I think an MSF may make sense for you if you can get into a top program for cheap. The MBA route is the preferred/highest return option, however.
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