realistic chances of breaking into investment banking without internships
I’m a third year science major at a University of Alberta in Canada with no internships on my resume and I was not able to secure an internship for summer as I started searching quite late into the process. I have a 3.9 GPA, I’m wondering realistically is it possible to break into investment banking and get an analyst or associate job at a big 5 and BB bank within the next few years? I would be giving up medical school to pursue banking, and I am passionate about both careers but I don’t want to give up medicine if there’s no real chance I could make it to a top level bank. Being stuck at a boutique my whole career is not what I want. With that said, I would prefer to be in banking instead of medicine if it is possible.
Thank you for any advice on if it’s possible at this point in my education!
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No research, no papers, no shadowing, nothing?
In terms of straight out of uni, I would be realistic and give up.
However, its not too uncommon to work at a boutique 2 years as an analyst and transfer to a larger bank and work again as an analyst.
I do have research experience from the last 2 years however it is in science. What do you think the chances are I could even get into a boutique bank? Let’s say if I cant get an IB internship this summer, and instead I get a finance internship in a different area, do you think it would be possible to get an analyst position upon graduating in a smaller boutiquebank?
Thanks
Read up a bit on this forum. You can't just get random finance experience and work in boutique IB. Boutique IB spots (and I'm not talking Moelis (if you even know what that is), like regional corporate advisory firms) have hundreds of willing applicants who have been grinding for spots and opportunities like that. You need a bit of a reality check
At a top level bank? I would say very difficult. No internships and a sudden last minute switch off a med track would suggest to any bank you applied to that you weren't really ever that set on banking.
Boutique may be easier but you would be grinding to find a position and likely would leave you with a lot of uncertainty heading into your final year.
Let’s say I don’t get an offer to a boutique after graduation. What would be my best path to land an offer eventually?
If your still dead set on IB, I would explore a Master's in Finance right after undergrad. Would give you a shot to rebrand yourself a bit and buy more time to get at least one relevant internship under your belt. I would say this path increases your odds a bit at getting into a "top level bank" to use your phrasing, but it by no means makes it "easy". It's all about how much risk you're willing to take to break into IB vs. going into medicine.
If you're equally passionate about both, I will say I've seen people in banking who have gone thru med school and some even residency and then jumped to banking from there directly into a healthcare role. That is a long time commitment and a lot of money spent but just a thought.
There’s nothing wrong with boutique banks.
I would be completely happy if I could get into a boutique. However, do you think it’ll be possible to get a position at one? Have applied to some finance related internships for the summer but like I said I wasn’t able to get a IB internship.
Thanks
Yes. Banking isn’t rocket science and you’ll be able to find someone, with sufficient elbow grease on your end, who likes the fact that you were pre-med and decides to give you a shot.
you will be competing with people who have 2-3 relevant internships. it will be very difficult without work experience.
What the majority says on this one is most likely true, but there is a minority of folks out there who did break in without an internship. Please bear in mind that this is not a large group, and that extraordinary measures were probably taken. I wasn't able to secure any internships and started in a large bank. The reasoning for this was I moved countries for it and also spoke additional languages. also, my studies were geared towards technology and innovation, which was sought after in the team I joined.
I would network as much as possible and apply everywhere, best of luck. Set yourself a deadline by which you want to be placed. If you fail to achieve this goal, move on for now.
Appreciate the reply!
If you're equally passionate about both go to med school. The only way from your current position into a top bank is either a 10 year MBA track or spending at least 2-4 years at a boutique and trying to lateral. That's assuming you can even get into a boutique. Imagine you've somehow made it to a superday and are now competing with a handful of students who all have 3.7+ GPA, finance internships and/or relevant extracurricular activities. What would you do/say that would set you apart and make them think you're the one they want to hire? If you think you have an angle here then go for it but otherwise, I'd save the hassle and move forward with medicine.
Thanks for the reply,
So for the 10 year MBA path I would basically have to find some finance work experience and then try and make a target school MBA and then look for an associate internship/job with an IB?
Also let’s say I could get into a boutique, how possible do you think it would be that I could pivot into a BB?
Thanks
Yeah something like that. 10 years is a bit of an overestimation but for most mba programs you need at least 2-4 years work experience + 2 years mba so you could foreseeably do it in 4-6 years post-grad. Regarding the boutique->bb path, it's hard to say. You can apply to lateral 1 year into the job but your mileage will vary based on the boutique, your ability to interview, and how well you network. I personally only know one person who went from boutique to mm but that was only after an mba as well.
People on this forum keep saying 'boutique' as if that is if OP can magically just get some boutique IB internship. His path to boutique is still almost as hard as BB/MM/EB
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