An Interesting Success Story

I ran into an old friend the other day and wanted to share his story with the community. He asked me to omit particular facts to maintain his anonymity. I hope that his story will encourage some of you to continue to persevere.

My friend has an unconventional background (philosophy major from a non-target - although he did have stellar grades) and decided relatively late that he was interested in IB. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get any job or internship offers. He also thought about getting a masters in finance, but he's always been a horrible test taker and figured that he wouldn't bother with the GMAT. My friend likes to say that he was fed up with the establishment (aka nepotism) in the US, and thus decided to purchase a one way ticket to continental Europe. He figured that he would try to make it in Europe and if all else failed, he would come back to the States with an awesome experience. He took an internship at a reputable European boutique wealth management firm and worked as a tour guide to make ends meet. The MD was so impressed with his work that he referred him to someone in IB at a BB. Long story short, my friend is now in his third year at this bank. The people at this bank were willing to look past his "lack" of qualifications because he "had the balls to leave everything behind and start anew in a foreign country."

Never give up on your dreams.