Very Stuck. Please help me.
Dear WSO,
I've been a longtime lurker and have finally taken the plunge. I will try and be as succinct as possible. Please bear with me.
I am a EU citizen who graduated from a small top30 liberal arts college in the USA with a GPA of 4.0. I did multiple internships in my home country (Cyprus) in international banks and an accounting big4 firm. I wasnt able to get any IB internships as I wanted to save my OPT status for when I graduated. Unfortunately, no USA investment bank was willing to sponsor me after I graduated and it was impossible to apply to UK banks due to the distance. As a result I returned home and am now working for one of the big4 as a chartered accountant trainee.
I am absolutely hating it and want another shot at IB. I have two options right now - drop out of big4 and apply for 2014 full-time grad schemes in the UK or drop from big4 after a year, go get a masters in finance in either St. Gallen or Stockholm School of Economics (both in top5 in EU) and try again in London. The problem with the first option is that I have no IB internship experience and am not sure I will be able to secure a job. The problem with the second option is that I will be taking pointless courses in Tax and accounting for a whole year. However, since both masters programs are longer than a year, I will have an extra summer to try and get into IB through internships.
Could off-cycle internships be a good option for me? Do you think it's too risky giving up on a secure job for the slim chance of getting a '14 full-time offer?
Thank you for your time.
I'd stay at a Big 4 for two years and suck it up to gain that experience. The risk is too high to try to break into IB w/o a previous internship. Not sure how London compares to NY now but not having US citizenship would be another disadvantage. I wouldn't rush back for your masters either as a strong brand on your resume is more impressive.
Someone told me that one's career is not a sprint. Pay your dues by having a boring job with subpar $. Eventually if you're good the better opportunities will open and so will your wallet.
mb666,
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Do you think I could possibly get an off-cycle internship to mitigate the lack of experience? Correct me if I am wrong, but I have heard they are easier to land. I do have a good financial background, so am thinking that if I devote all my time to applications and interview prep instead of wasting it calculating how much tax Joe has to pay I will stand a decent chance to get something.
It is possible but there remains uncertainty in being able to land an internship, particularly at a well regarded firm. I would consider the following:
You're trying to enter a super competitive industry in a non-traditional matter. I don't think it is worth the risk unless you have the financial resources and backup plans in the event that the IB path does not work out this moment. I think your downside outweighs the realistic pros.
Did you just graduate this May? People can interpret your hasty decision to leave a Big 4 firm after several months as a negative. Also, you dislike your current role, but as you've never worked in IB, how do you know that you will enjoy it?
A path of least resistance would be to stay in your current role but network aggressively, ideally to find FT openings (your main disadvantage is being in Cyprus away from the action so it is important that people know that you still exist). I wouldn't bother with internships unless you have a high chance of obtaining a FT offer. As already mentioned, you can always return to graduate school down the road albeit you need more experience to be competitive at most of the top MBA programs. I wouldn't pursue a MS but am not sure how much merit the degree has overseas.
Stay at Big 4 and get paid to do your MBA and then jump ship.
Thank you for sharing your opinions guys. It does seem like it would be too risky to drop out now. I think I will definitely try to network from Cyprus and see where that takes me. I am pretty certain I will pursue an MS as both programs I want to apply for seem to place really well in London, so it could be a way in. Its not just the job - life in Cyprus is very boring too and I dont see much scope for improvement, so it is another reason to try and get out. Still, I assume that work experience at a Big4 even if its just 1 year might count for something down the road.
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