My Journey So Far

Over the last two years, I have spent countless hours on WSO reading about Finance, IB, PE, and all the funny and sh*t posts in between. Every time there were setbacks, I'd find some success stories on here from students with similar non-traditional backgrounds, and they always motivated me to keep going. Although, I'd be lying if I said that I'm not also making this post to receive some validation.

Background

Without giving away too many identifying details, here is a quick overview of my background. My family came to the US from a war-torn nation seeking asylum when I was around 12 years old. I initially struggled to assimilate into the American culture and learn how to speak English well; however, with time, I felt I started to fit in (as much as someone from my background could). My grades in high school weren't the best, and I ended up going to a school in the middle of nowhere for a year, following which I transferred to my state school, which, at best, is a semi-target with one or two BB IBD offers every year.

Like most college students studying finance, the allure of Investment Banking had always excited me. Frankly, it was because of the prestige and compensation that IB is known for. The possibility of making more than both of my parents made in a year combined as a first-year analyst was beyond my wildest imagination.

My closest friend – Failure

On my journey toward the IB dream, there were certainly setbacks; at times, they were massive and frequent. My sophomore spring consisted of everything from coming out to my extremely conservative Asian parents, going through my first break-up, being hospitalized for a week for heart complications, not getting into any of my school's finance/investment clubs, having a superday rescinded from a BB that I assumed was a lock, and having my apartment broken into and robbed forcing me to move apartments mid-semester, all while doing 21 credits of classes and being in the midst of doing applications, networking calls, and interviews. There were certainly times that I felt more defeated and worn out than I knew how to deal with. To my fellow peers and anyone else going through something similar, have faith and do whatever possible to maintain confidence in yourself– even if it is a delusional sense of confidence. I realize that it is much easier for me to say this now that it's all in the past and things worked out for me, but I still hope you can maintain the belief that things have a way of working out in the end, it's not over till it is entirely over.

Results

I do want to acknowledge that I lucked out in finding mentors that weren't my alumni yet decided to go out of their way and help me. Through the help of these mentors, I had the opportunity to Superday at three EBs, and four BBs (did two superdays at the same firm for their top group in different locations). I would consistently go two or three nights without sleeping to prep for these superdays (to a point where one all-nighter felt like nothing), and admittedly sacrificed my health and social life during this process. After what can only be described as a sh*tstorm of a semester, I was fortunate enough to land an offer with a top BB firm and also an EB.

Ultimately, I signed with the BB and went about my sophomore summer internship.

Mid-summer, I saw an application for an MF PE summer analyst position and applied with the same mentality that people buy lottery tickets with. To my own surprise, I kept moving on through the multiple rounds and received an offer. It was the first time someone from my uni had received an MF PE offer, and while I hated doing it, I reneged on my BB offer and signed the PE offer.

To anyone who is going through a similar journey, I hope my story can be helpful in making you realize that anything is truly possible. All you have to do is be persistent and not give up. Every time I felt like giving up, I stepped back and remembered a Denzel Washington quote: If you hang around the barbershop long enough, sooner or later, you're going to get a haircut.

Additionally, if I can be helpful to anyone in WSO, please feel free to reach out. I know I wouldn't have had a percentage of the success I did without this community, and I feel that it is my responsibility to give back.