Job prospects out of UCLA?

Hey guys, I'm heading to UCLA in the fall as a transfer in the Math/Econ major, and am aiming to work on wall street as an analyst after graduation. I'm planning on taking an extra year there (they gave me a substantial amount of money to enroll there) in order to have one summer to study abroad (hopefully LSE) and one summer to intern.

But for now I'm just learning everything I can about finance through reading a bunch of books and WSJ/FT. I'm going to network hard once I get there and attend recruiting events and do everything I can to keep the GPA up.

How is UCLA in terms of getting a job in finance (Ibanking mostly)?

Thanks a lot

 

you will be fine for LA banks, although there are limited spots so you need to start early by doing internships and networking your way into interviews. SF or NYC will be pretty tough unless you have some strong ties to tech (in SF's case) by have an EE/CS degree.

 

Okay thanks a lot guys, really appreciate the help. I would love to work for a big bank, or even BlackRock would be awesome

Other than just trying to dominate my course work, what other advice would you give to me in order to position myself to get the best positions?

Career events, reaching out to alums, etc? Any advice will be def appreciated.

 

You definitely have the option to ask for only a single office preference when applying (at least this was true when I went through 2 years ago). This will not hurt your candidacy as far as I know.

BCG's West Coast offices (LA/SF) are staffed together, so there is a good amount of variety in project work (tech, industrial goods, financial services, etc.)

 

Anderson does better with LA than with NYC, as most banks send their LA ppl to recruit there.

That being said, that does not mean every newly minted MBA places into CS LA and UBS LA.

NYC would involve a lot more networking.

Go back East for MBA if you want to settle back East. It's just easier.

 

What you say definitely makes sense. I'm thinking I want to settle in Southern California, but might like spend a couple years in NY for the experience.

I'm deciding between a few MBA programs ranked 5-10 (i.e. not HBS, Stanford, Wharton, MIT) and UCLA Anderson, which has offered money.

I regretfully have zero i-banking experience, but am determined to get my foot in the door. Assuming I want to stay in So Cal, I'm wondering if it's ridiculous to turn down higher-ranked programs for UCLA.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

 

UCLA is very close to many of the regional offices of LA banks. With that level of proximity you should be able to easily network your way into a Summer Associate position.

Again, if you want a NYC position, banks still come out here so you won't be locked into any one market.

 

for California.

But USC tends to be more of a target than UCLA for some reason. I think it has to do with having an undergraduate business school and the demographic of the student body. UCLA students tends to be more "academic" and more likely to go on to grad school for a PhD or whatever while USC students are more "professional" and want to get into finance or whatever and start making money.

 

A decent amount of West Coast groups recruit out of UCLA. It's much harder to get to NY.

1) Get out of SAS. They convince themselves that Big4 accounting is the Holy Grail. 2) Get involved with the Undergrad Business Society and get in touch with the i-banking mentors/officers.
3) Get into the i-banking workshop.

4) don't listen to your professors, friends, or other bus/econ kids that are pushing you to do big4 accounting. give them the finger and pursue banking.

 
Best Response

I am a UCLA grad so shoot me a PM if you want.

Generally speaking get involved with the UBS as stated above. Keep you grades up and try to get a internship this summer or during the school year. Get that accounting minor too. Being as though its your freshman summer and will be sophomore school year shoot for anything finance related internship. Even something that's unpaid and 10-20 hours a week will be good. It displays youre interested and gives you opportunities to build upon before recruiting for the real summer analyst positions that open up during your junior summer. Use the career center website to look for jobs and when late fall/early winter jr year roll around be on the look out for those summer analyst gigs. Plenty of kids get banking jobs out of UCLA, its really not that hard if you set yourself up properly.

 

oh yeah, just as ke18sb stated, get an internship ASAP during the school year or over the summer related to finance. Even if it's just wealth management, that'll do. Most people from UCLA i know did WM internship during the year, then banking internship, --> banking FT.

 

I don't necessarily agree with that comment. He/She is going to be at UCLA now - in my opinion, in the eyes of a recruiter, this could be seen as someone who is driven and motivated to move up. I'd think it would be hard to go from a community college to UCLA with a 3.0. It's not about where you start, but where you finish. He's getting a degree from UCLA, which is all that really matters.

Regarding the weak background in accounting, I wouldn't necessarily consider that a be all, end all to a career in ibd. I came from a Top 10 liberal arts college, from a non-econ/math/finance/any other related degree background and it worked out fine for me.

Any bright kid could do this stuff - what's just as important is to show that you have solid quant skills, you're driven, passionate, a hard worker, and are sociable and not a douche.

Don't pretend to know everything about DCF's, comps etc. Know the basics, but more importantly speak to your strengths and be able to tell a compelling story about why you want to get into this business.

This is probably a bit of a cliche, but I hope this helps.

 

cubemonkey you clearly don't know about the california college education system. one doesn't stand a chance if recruiters know you are from a cc especially for a summer analyst position. maybe after you do a year at ucla and kill it grade wise then one can overcome the cc. however who is going to give a kid a summer position that has taken no classes at the school. not to mention tranfering into ucla and getting in out of high school is night and day. everyone knows this including recruiters. i'm trying to help the kid out here by letting him know to avoid the cc issue as much as possible.

 

Thanks for the input thus far. I understand its an industry about what you know or how you can figure something out. But I just want to be prepared for interviews this coming fall. I'm sure being a UCLA student has its advantages such as the presence of on-campus interviews. Moreso, than I can get from my community college. I just need the direction to really make myself stand out in the crowd. Which is why i'm trying to get an early start.

It is not about the title that you have, it is about how much money that you have.
 

Est exercitationem debitis molestiae molestiae ut blanditiis. Ut rerum labore possimus sed. Sint quidem est est exercitationem non.

Magnam culpa fuga dolorum qui sint similique est architecto. Ipsam dicta quae tempore quia quam et.

Hic occaecati quia culpa iste inventore quis et. Rerum enim eum ducimus esse vero quae.

It is not about the title that you have, it is about how much money that you have.
 

Sunt nisi ea quo sit alias rerum amet veritatis. Ea fugit eos harum quod et ipsum velit tenetur.

In sed occaecati nemo molestiae dolores velit. Voluptates dolor autem earum velit et natus laboriosam. Et aut eligendi rem eaque. Enim qui delectus est praesentium impedit accusamus ipsam. Ut iure totam alias voluptatem qui iste voluptatem rerum.

Repellendus ullam dolore nemo saepe. Voluptas eum earum ducimus veniam fugit repudiandae iure totam. Amet eos maxime rem. Et impedit et nihil earum tenetur corrupti deserunt. Vel et quia dolor quae error voluptatem. Voluptatem odit impedit ipsum aut deleniti aut cupiditate et.

 

A praesentium doloribus consectetur suscipit veritatis dolores nam aperiam. Deserunt iure aut ullam. Perferendis est harum ut aliquam accusamus eligendi. Autem aut dolores deleniti. Eaque qui exercitationem et. Voluptate est in inventore ut.

Voluptas repellat est at nam. Dignissimos esse excepturi rerum sunt ad. Magni sequi corrupti hic quis optio. Esse minima accusantium illo.

Dolor sint et dolorum ab. A velit expedita corporis et soluta accusantium. Aut iusto reiciendis itaque et illum et omnis. Omnis ut facere et et iure. Aut dolorem neque adipisci rem neque.

It is not about the title that you have, it is about how much money that you have.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

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

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 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

March 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

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
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...”