I'm currently a Financial Advisor (Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS) who hates being a salesman, and I'm also not very good at it. I got into wealth management because I didn't get an offer for IB, ER, etc. I want to use an MBA as a launching pad for my next career move because, to be very honest, the CFA (I'm finishing level III this June) has done almost nothing for me. The obvious concern is what if the MBA doesn't get me to where I want to go? I'm assuming I can crush the GMAT (based on practice) and get into either a low tier M7 or Yale/Tuck/Stern tier school. I'm realistic enough to know that PE/HF is out of the question with my experience, but I'd like to know if IB, consulting at a top firm (MBB or Big 4), or asset management at a top firm is achievable. One of my big concerns is that there is no grade disclosure, so I can't use that as a differentiator, so how do I stand out from my peers to land one of these highly coveted and competitive jobs, given my background? How do I stand out and what factors should I consider when taking the risk of ending up with $200k in debt without a decent job?
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I think you could do it if you were willing to start as an Analyst (entry level). Like you said, you have no relevant experience, but getting in at the bottom shouldn't be that difficult. Have you tried applying to any entry level roles? I'd honestly skip grad school and just do that, because you are liking going to start at the bottom with or without the MBA. Save yourself $200K.
This is terrible advice. If you get into a good school you’re fine.
So are you saying OP could get in at the Associate level (or higher) post MBA with a background in Financial Advisory? I'm not seeing the purpose of the $200K MBA since OP will most definitely start at the bottom regardless. There is no substitute for relevant experience. And even with a top MBA, OP will be competing with others who not only have top MBAs, but also have relevant experience.
What? All MBA hires start at the Associate level in IB/MC, regardless of prior experience.
OP, don't listen to this person. They have no idea what they're talking about. All post-MBA hires to investment banks and consulting firms come in at the same 'post-MBA' level. For both banking and consulting, relevant experience is not necessary. While firms are definitely interested in your background, if you can get into a top business school, then you can spin your story to be attractive to the firms that recruit from it.
Contrary to what this poster says, you likely won't be competing with people who have relevant experience and top MBAs, as there are very few people who go banking > MBA > banking. Pre-MBA bankers are generally interested in PE, start-ups, etc. If they wanted to stay in banking, they didn't have to go to business school to do so. Consulting is pretty similar, as most people who go consulting > MBA > consulting are sponsored, so you're not competing against them. Consulting may have more people trying to trade up in terms of firm prestige, but the majority of people recruiting for consulting in business school will not have consulting experience. For both IB and MC, it is the networking and interview prep that will be crucial for you once you get on campus.
Do you know how MBA recruiting works.. like.. at all?
If you make it to M7 MBB/IB will really be doable from you background. You could even try to network internally pre MBA with folks on the IB side of your bank
T15 MBA will be good enough for regional BB/EB, all MM, all Big 4 consulting, regional MBB, large CorpFin/CorpDev.
And totally agree with Pan European Monkey that you should definitely look into a pre-MBA internship, that is a big help since Associate recruiting takes place essentially Day 1 of the MBA.
you should have no issue getting into IB/consulting from M7/T10 schools
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