Importance of age for London SA?

Hi there,

With the London SA opening up, I was wondering how important age is my case.

Here are a few bullet points about me:

  • Due to fondness of partying in high school and time overseas, I am a bit older, currently 25.
  • Spend three years overseas. Predominantly traveling in Asia and living in Sydney.
  • Worked most of the time in the mines and construction. We clocked on average 80 with occasional exceptions of 90-100 hours a week in construction. In the mines we did 14 hour days, 7 days a week for 8 weeks straight.
  • Learned how to work in a team. You kinda have to when the mine site is 6 hours away from the nearest village. Rural Strayaaa!
  • Loved my construction job and was in the process of getting sponsored, but decided to leave due vastly decreasing learning curve. 
  • Determined on pursuing IB with hopefully a general role at an EB (interested in RX and M&A). 
  • Currently penultimate year Econometrics and Operational Research (EOR) student - best EOR study in The Netherlands but I do not think recruiters would know that. 
  • GPA 8.1 / 10.0 (translates to a 4.0 if I am not mistaking).
  • Choose this study because of the challenge and Finance concentrations are a joke here. Took extra finance courses and planning on taking additional accounting / finance courses throughout my academic life.
  • Honours Programme student: additional 30 EC (5 extra specialized courses).
  • Mentor for first year students and might become Corporate Finance TA.
  • Planning on doing more with finance student organisations but most committees and boards are tailored for final year bachelor or master students.
  • For what it is worth, did/doing the WSO modeling course.
  • If London SA won't work, I am going to email every Dutch boutique / PE shop.

I know that I got the whole non-target and lack of relevant jobs blabla thing going against me, but would my age already be a killer or is it unimportant due to unusual background?

Any tips, recommendations, or critic would be appreciated.

Cheers


 

its fine - i had 24/25 year olds in my M&A intern class at a London BB

 

I know plenty of people that are 25+yo doing SA. First, many Europeans usually do a Masters' degree, some French Masters' programs are 2 years long, so these guys are already 23+yo. Pretty much the same for Italians and Germans. I also know quite some Swiss, Singaporeans and Koreans that had to do 2 years of military service, so they're 24yo+ when they join. 

Age is def not a problem. 

 

Minima molestiae reprehenderit possimus nihil iste totam velit. Perspiciatis et dicta enim sit dolor rem error. Qui est aut expedita quod et dolore fugiat. Ratione rerum iusto id reprehenderit eligendi expedita numquam velit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (145) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”