Hey everyone:
So to give you all a little background, I am a non-target student (senior graduating in May) in a mid-size Midwestern city with not a whole lot of finance opportunities. I have a 3.7 GPA and experience in PE, and M&A at a privately held global firm. My goal is to break into IB, but haven't received any offers as of yet. My current internship which will transition into FT is in Financial Reporting - or a fancy way of saying accounting. My salary will be high 60's, but I'm not very interested in my role and afraid it will limit my IB options going forward.
Would it be smart to consider taking a job for 40k or less depending on the exposure and learning experiences I can gain my first few years out of school? Would love to hear what some of you all have been through and the decisions you made.
Cheers!
Depends on what this 40k/year job will entail. If you take the financial reporting job - study up on technicals and network hard during your first year so you can lateral out. Not the end of the world if you don't land your dream gig right out of school.
That’s my plan if I don’t get a IB gig anywhere. Just nervous I could get pigeonholed
I don't think you should really worry about being pigeon holed for at least a few years post college. One of my analyst friends went to med school for 2 years before IB (and no she didn't join the healthcare group). She had family connections, but still - people give you a fair bit of flexibility in crafting your career story when you're in your early 20's.
I’ll just bluntly ask - if you had internship experience in PE and M&A, I’d imagine you’d still get some looks from IBs even if you’re non-target. What happened there?
Also is this 40k job a hypothetical scenario? (re: if I can get a $40k no name boutique IB / advisory-ish role vs $60k financial reporting gig?)
To clarify, my PE role was a remote position with a small shop (just me and the principal). So unfortunately, I didn't get a whole lot of connections from that, but did get some good experience in the process. My M&A role was in corporate/ business development for a global manufacturing firm (probably an important detail I didn't clarify while trying to get a post out between work and class).
Additionally, this 40k gig is a hypothetical currently, but I do have some interviews coming up with local investment banks and asset management firms. Given the smaller market it looks like they pay in the 40-50k range.
It depends on the roles, but most jobs paying $40k aren't going to provide great experience for a new hire. They tend to be "foot in the door" roles. You're looking at back/middle office IB, entry level pwm, entry level fund accounting, etc.
Of those, pwm is probably the best. Anywhere you can earn your CPA/CFA (where the work experience actually counts) is your best bet. Do 2 years, earn your CPA or 2/3 of your CFA, and then look to break in to a new role.
In the ~$50k range you're probably looking at entry level AM roles doing things like capital markets research etc. I think I have the salary right there. Those roles are a little more hard finance and better suited.
Accounting is a good background for IB, especially if you pivot post MBA. Depends on the firm though and the type of role (i.e. bookkeeping roles no, actual operational finance or disclosure and reporting are probably better). If you don't get IB, big 4 accounting is a good place to start. Your background should be a fit. Get your CPA and then recruit for finance. CFA on the side helps.
You need to expand your geographic reach. IB opportunities in a mid tier city are second to none, so you'll have to recruit elsewhere eventually anyways. You don't have any alum at Deloitte/PwC/EY/KPMG Chicago? Or entry level finance roles? Any hard quant experience now will serve you down the line.
Thanks for the insightful response. I have some (like 2-3) alums in entry level IB roles at small local shops. Unfortunately, these firms aren't looking for anyone at the moment. I also have some friends & colleagues with connections to the Big 4 which I am trying to leverage to possibly break into corp fin.
Would you mind if I sent you a PM? You seem very knowledgeable.
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