How to break into the finance industry, whatever IBDs or CBs in whatever size, PE, or even financial advisory firms?

Hey guys,

I am a new comer to WSO. I am a Chinese actually, dunno if someone will see this post and kindly offer me some guidance. To tell you the truth, I am about to graduate from an Ivy with a Master degree in Nanotech (about integrated-circuits, MEMS, and yes, your iphone electronic components). Presumably, before I came to the US, I thought being able to study in an Ivy would help me to get into IBDs. But I failed, not even securing an interview with bulge brackets in APAC, let alone the scarce opportunities for boutiques in Asia.

After graduation, I planned to study in an MSc Finance program in the UK. I don't have those star-war-like quant talents so just applied some G5 schools for simply Finance. Being frustrated now, I got no offers from these programs and found myself in a quagmire where windows for entering IBDs or Chinese Securities Firms have been almost shut due to covid. Yeah, f..k covid.

I have a mediocre undergraduate background, not those shining degrees from Tsinghua or Peking university. I had a buy-side equity research internship when I was a junior, even though my background was about materials science. I picked a stock in the semiconductor industry via fundamental analysis and, luckily, its share price sky rocketed in about four months.

Right now, I am eagerly to seek advice from you guys on this true-professional platform. Right after my first sighting of the JPMorgan Shanghai office, I found a new world and became insatiable for my mediocrity at that time. I desire to work for JPM right after I read books about it, which comprehensively described what it had achieved from the beginning to 2008. Maybe, I was illusional and blinded by this wild dream without even carefully building-up technicals or networkings.

Am I still able to get into IBD for whatever sizes, provided that I could go to the UK for a finance master program?

Thank you for your precious time in reading these. I desperately need some guidance or just tell me my endeavors in these are doomed that I could finally discard this dream.

Best, JyRaven with a FUCK

1 Comments
 

Unde minus enim ducimus. Excepturi consequatur rem quia dolore. Aut sint doloremque modi atque consequatur dignissimos.

Consequuntur non occaecati occaecati et consequatur nemo. Voluptatem est nesciunt error accusantium atque repellat. Et voluptatum corrupti voluptatem.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

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

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”