Ya somehow I don't find myself interested in accounting at all compared to finance which I think might be a major problem.

I feel like it would actually be really helpful if you could walk me through a typical day when you were interning and the changes in what you do as your career has progressed.

Also, if you could give me kind of a range of the salary (or $/h wage) you made interning and how that changed after you completed your degree I think that could also be pretty helpful (no need to answer if this is too private).

Transfer to UT Austin and intern with some of the venture firms there.

Semi similar question

I have an BBA in accounting and finance, looking to move into corporate finance at somepoint.

Would an MBA be necessary to jump to corporate finance with 3 or 4 years big 4 experience or could i make the jump with no additional schooling

Best route is to get an MBA at Harvard with a 4.0. Otherwise, it's going to be pretty hard. Not impossible, but really hard. Networking is the key.

Or you can grow your own startup and sell it for millions while impressing your VC investors. That would def get you a good in.

You might want to look at working at a startup. You will be able to do all kinds of finance/business stuff (valuation, negotiation, sales, business planning, budgeting) and learn new skills since you'll pretty much do whatever needs doing. Will be invaluable experience if you want your own business one day.

Get the MBA.

Posters if you are looking for career advice you need to be school specific, geographically specific and GPA specific. The above matters 98% of the time when looking for a job.

Also, the terms investment bank, hedge fund and corporate finance are so broad you need to be more specific.

attempt IB, you'll definitely hate it but it will get you where you are trying to go.

yea been thinking about this and might consider after this semester or the next...Austin only place i have found any near me...

that all? :P....

i think both of these were in response to VC...what is the standard path of someone getting to a HF/private equity? i feel like it has to be more performance based but obv networking skills do wonders

i know these fields are exclusive, competitive, etc but it wont stop me from trying...any opinions/insights/stories would be greatly appreciated

is entry level investment banking as bad as everyone seems to say it is?

Ya this is what I need, Ill be looking into this for my co op jobs/job after graduation.

ive researched ibanking quite a bit and apparently it is as bad as you think it is, not to mention it is extremely difficult to break into. 80 - 120 hours per week pretty much says it all. With those kinds of hours you do nothing but work. You sleep less and exercise less and your health takes a serious toll. You get a dece salary but working as much as you do, your hourly wage is lower than a lot of other finance jobs. Good news is that typically after a couple years your hours are reduced, you get out of the grunt work phase, and start making lots of cash. Not worth it in my opinion though.

HF and PE is the same. I might've exaggerated a tad but not that much. These things are really hard. Given what you've said, you're not getting recruited by these guys. You need an in from somebody. Networking is key to getting these kind of jobs. But you also have to be very impressive once your networking gets you a chance.

Entry level IB at one of the major NY banks is torture coming out of undergrad. Your looking at basically 0 life outside of work if you want to sleep at all. I've been told that it gets a lot easier if you're going in with some experience and an MBA though. Also alot of smaller boutique firms are a lot more chill. More like standard 50-60 hour weeks with the 100 ones every couple months.

Oh and as someone else mentioned putting in time at a prestigious IB bank and doing well is the other option for getting into a Hedge Fund, VC, or PE firm. And actually it is the most likely route for someone like you and me.

Thanks a ton for these responses, i feel like i really need to focus on a single job as my goal and prepare for it heavily. A recurring theme has been the power of networking in both my inquiries and experience in getting job interviews etc. It is something that i hoped people were exaggerating all throughout my undergrad when i was still playing poker, mostly due to the fact i am naturally introverted and it is a bit intimidating. But now actually looking for a job/career path i can see the tremendous value in it.

I think i might start looking into corporate finance, haven't really checked it out but it was mentioned earlier and it might be a position i can find a bit easier than IB/VC.

Can anyone give some tips on networking as a student? I have no contacts in the finance field so I should probably get going but have no idea what to do.

What school are you in?

No problem. Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm about to graduate with a finance degree myself and have talked with tons of people in the industry trying to figure out what I actually want to do. Like you, I'd love a finance dream job but have realized that I have not put myself in a position to get one via the traditional routes. I naturally tend to be an introvert as well, but I have learned to just suck it up and start talking to strangers. I've found that the hardest part was just the first couple sentences. After that the convo runs itself. Once I realized that, it became much easier for me to just go ahead and introduce myself. It helps that I am genuinely very interested in finance and business so I have something that I can talk to them about extensively. Good Luck.

p.s. see below for networking tips.

Talk to everyone that has any experience or slight chance of future success. That's literally all you need to do. Talk to them about business and finance so they know you are serious. If you know what you're talking about, you can build a contact in a few conversations really.

Specifically, talk to the professors in your field. Especially the very intelligent, successful ones. Get to know them, ask about their career and get advice for yours. Ask them about breaking into a career that you are interested in. When you are serious about breaking in somewhere, ask them if they know anyone in the space. If they like you a little bit, they will probably give you a contact. A lot of profs love talking to students and helping them in their career. As with other contacts, you will be amazed what people will do for you when you simply ask.

Second, seek out finance competitions that you can participate in. I've done a couple now, and they were extremely useful. First of all, your profs will be impressed that you are doing work outside the classroom and you will be instantly put in their good graces. Also, they will develop very useful skills while looking sweet on a resume and being a great thing to point to during interviews that shows you are willing to do more than the average guy. Besides that the judges tend to be well connected people within the industry that you can network with.

Third, go to any events out on by business related groups/frats. Not only will you learn, but you should be personally talking to the speaker after the event if given the opportunity. It's also a good place to meet colleagues in your field. You should be talking to as many of your colleagues as possible imo. They might not be able to help you know but they could be invaluable down the line. Develop a contact with anyone in your classes that seems to have a clue. I actually got an internship from randomly striking up a convo with a guy sitting in our school's bloomberg terminal room at 2AM.


In general, you should go to vista print and get yourself some solid business cards ASAP. Whenever you know you are going to meet someone slightly important make sure that you research their back ground a bit and look polished.