Veteran choosing between CMU and Georgetown. Where to GO?
Good evening Guys!!
Long time lurker, second time poster.
I read through a few threads regarding recruiting from Carnegie Mellon vs. Georgetown and still can't make up my mind. I'm looking for any sort of guidance. Despite the difference in the MBA rankings, neither program seems to win out over the other when it comes to actually getting a job.
Anyway, to give some background: As the title states, I'm a 7 year veteran who has served his contract with the Army. I did my time and I'm done. I now have the means (and rigor) to pursue an MBA and try to work in a field that I am passionate about. I love the capital markets and trading is a personal hobby of mine that I have invested a large amount of time into learning over the past decade. So, naturally, I'm trying to get into AM or S&T. I really have little desire to run down the IB route (it honestly sounds exactly like what I do now on a General Officer's staff but with much better pay). That being said, it looks like it comes down to S&T at CMU or AM at Georgetown.
I know these posts are a dime a dozen but any crumbs of advice are graciously welcomed.
Sales and Trading stopped recruiting MBAs like 10-15 years ago. I mean maybe you could get into S&T, but banks are not coming to MBA programs to recruit for it.
As far as asset management goes, that's an extremely competitive job to get, not to mention with no prior finance experience, it's going to be even tougher. T Rowe has a pre-mba summer internship that maybe would help you get some relevant experience. If you're looking at employment reports, the jobs at Vangaurd, Fidelity, etc are likely leadership development programs and non-investment roles
Hey man,
That's exactly the advice I'm looking for. Thank you.
To add to my original post. I did get into a summer internship at a major commercial bank that was geared towards helping us get into the industry. We earned our series 63 and 7 licenses and got some pretty good company wide exposure. I was very thankful and was offered an entry level role on the retail banking side. However, since I have the full G.I. Bill (and I'm not exactly jacked about reviewed loans) I decided to go the MBA route.
Georgetown is the right choice for you given your background. There will be more opportunities for you in DC.
Thank you for the Feedback!
I'm not dead-set on S&T or AM. However, I do love the markets and want to be able to contribute value added research, analysis or insight.
If you enjoy markets should also consider PE-oriented consulting roles. LEK/Parthenon/Bain PEG/S& Deals and there are a bunch of industry focused boutiques (e.g. Kurt Salmon at Accenture). These groups focus exclusively on market attractiveness and a company's ability to capture additional market share over time, or growth strategy engagements determining what markets a company should grow into. It's not focused on day to day valuation, but rather on competitive advantages, product trends, new innovations, and how markets will evolve over time. If this sounds attractive to you, reach out to a few consultants to talk about growth strategy.
It's harder to break into from GT/CMU but it is possible.
Have you done any exploring of work programs targeted at post-MBA veteran development at any firms you may be interested in? I haven't personally seen any for specifically S&T/AM but that falls well outside of my purview. Maybe spend a few minutes looking something up along the lines of "Veteran MBA leadership development program Morgan Stanley (for example)." Again, not entirely sure you'll find one tailored to your exact desires, but could be worth poking around. Thanks for your service and I hope you find what you're looking for!
EDIT: If you're interested more broadly in the capital markets and could see yourself working on the advisory side of the business, it may be worth looking into post-MBA ECM/DCM associate roles, as most BB firms will have some kind of program specifically targeted to that kind of role, i.e., Goldman's Veterans Integration Program (VIP).
The Goldman Sachs VIP does place people into S&T. That is the only one I know of. The others are IB or commercial banking roles. B of A, Guggenheim, JP Morgan, William Blair, are some of the others that I know off the top of my head. They would either be actual internships or networking seminars. Just google [bank name] veteran/militiary internship. A few MBA programs have put together lists of them.
So, Just in case there are other veterans curious and looking for Internships I thought I would provide some follow up.
I choose CMU and did an Equity Research internship this summer at a BB. The pandemic cut the internship in half which was a huge bummer but it was still an overall outstanding experience. I learned more in 4 weeks than I did in a year of school. For any fellow vets reading this, the street is highly receptive to our experience and most people, as long as you are humble and respectful, are more than happy to give you a few minutes of their time.
Also, thank you to everyone on the board who gave advice and pointers. It is sincerely appreciated.
Thanks for posting the follow-up!
Are you headed back to equity research post-MBA? It's a great job for career switchers! Or looking to leverage this into a AM role?
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