Newbie looking for life-changing advice!

Hi all,

I have (very) recently begun getting heavily interested in the world of corporate finance, banking, and investment banking. I do not come from any top institution with any world-renown business program (very far from it), nor are my parents in the industry. I have begun investing my time in reading as much as I can (WSJ, Economist, MarketWatch, SeekingAlpha), and self teaching myself about anything wall street related, so far the most interesting is stocks and investments.

I am looking to get ANY experience (paid, unpaid) in any form of finance so I can figure out what path I want to go on, but I am a junior right now and still do not have any summer internships even though I applied to around 35 places, (still keep applying to places with a shred of hope someone will want to interview me). I've tried to financify my resume, cover letter, linkedin, but truly have almost no practical financial experience at all, and would rather not put something on resume I can't speak about. Can anyone give me advice on how to break into the financial field in a situation like mine or give an example if you were in a similar situation?

Thank you!! aka131

5 Comments
 
"The Real Max"

Get something business related on your resume. You need to have some experience for recruiting next year.

Would a unpaid internship at a cold-call chop-shop at a shady Wall Street firm or at NWM (both very negatively looked at at WSO) be a viable experience? Would something along these lines even matter to future employers or would I be better off to just take an unpaid internship (pretty much guaranteed) at a city office doing random tasks but continuing my finance self-education?
 
Best Response

Natus voluptatibus at est incidunt veritatis eos commodi. Natus quia rerum est et alias reiciendis. Consectetur sit aliquid eos consequatur. Deserunt fugiat nobis molestiae nihil neque quis.

Ut tenetur nisi dolor quis earum. Nulla qui deleniti sed debitis qui. Voluptates minus et non sed. Sequi accusantium facere assumenda aliquid adipisci eum placeat. Expedita itaque quia corporis autem odit.

Totam iusto quia voluptas rerum quidem mollitia id modi. Dolore dolores magni et numquam quos veniam sed optio. Repellendus ipsam consectetur quibusdam quisquam reiciendis numquam explicabo.

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 (65) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”