young MBA --> associate...how's that work out?

hey folks,

if you arrange to get an undergrad finance degree from a tip top school and right away get your MBA right after also from a tip top school (perhaps even at the same time, a la wharton's submat program)...

and you go straight into an associate role at a BB bank in NYC...

do you get paid like a real associate? anyone know anyone else that did this? what was his/her experience like? it seems pretty appealing to me!

 

There's a good chance you'd still get hired as an analyst. The MBA is only a component of your qualifications. Nobody is going to guarantee you a senior role just because of a peice of paper. You'll have to prove you are as good those candidates with more experience.

 

Well, it is true that there are associates that get hired out of MBA with no finance experience (except maybe internship). And associates get paid as associates.

However, I believe the reason they do that is they want more than just former monkeys in the associate class - they're interested in taking seasoned professionals who've proven themselves in other fields. (lightly seasoned - maybe 3-5 years)

In your case, you'd have to explain to the recruiter why you could be an associate without having had a full time job before.

I've never heard of MBAs hired as analysts, unless someone else on this board has. Kind of like hiring an attorney for a paralegal position, or a doctor for a nurse position. Either you're qualified for the real thing, or not.

 

your title is Senior Analyst. basically an analyst but you get bumped up a bit in pay grade and you're one year ahead on the promotion timeline (if you manage to stay on it).

 

In India the typical MBA is 23-24 years old with at most 1-2 years of work behind him. So the BBs which come down usually offer 2nd year analyst or 3rd year analyst level positions. Although of late banks like Lehman and Db have been offering associate level positions for 24-25 year olds

 

I have a friend who went from UF undergrad straight to an M.B.A. at the University of Miami. Maybe it is because both of these schools are not prestigious, but he got hired as a senior analyst at a BB. Everything Montecarlo said about pay and promotion timeline is true, but my friend said that the responsibility level was identical to an analyst straight out of undergrad. It does not seem like a good idea to me, but this certainly is not a Harvard to HBS example so take it for what it is worth.

 

I, however, feel that I wouldn't exploit the full potential of any MBA program if I weren't a part of the industry for some time and had few experiences to relate to during my stay at the program. I would assume being exposed to industry would also help you during networking.

 

so for people who want to do an analyst position right out of college, and then pursue an associate position (for which they need an MBA) how do they earn a living while they are in school for two year? is this the typical progression of someone who works as an analyst for 2-3 years?

 
h4zin:
so for people who want to do an analyst position right out of college, and then pursue an associate position (for which they need an MBA) how do they earn a living while they are in school for two year? is this the typical progression of someone who works as an analyst for 2-3 years?

Savings. Student Loans. Part time job.

Some banks will sponsor you to do MBA part time while you work and will pay for all or some of the tuition. It's definitely not the "standard" - it's very much discretionary, depends on the company, the group, the employee, the management, etc. NYU-Stern is the only school that makes any sense for that purpose though. Columbia has no PT program.

 

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