Comments on: How to Break into Investment Banking as an Engineer – If You Enjoy the Punishment

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 22:55:36 +0000

In reply to BP. Yes. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but no bank is going to hire you for an entry-level Analyst role if you have 25 years of experience. If you really want to do finance, you might be able to find a quant fund or trading firm that needs good engineering talent and doesn't care about age or experience level. But traditional Analyst roles at banks are not really an option.

By: BP

BP — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 22:46:55 +0000

I’m about 50 years old. I’ve been working in as an engineer for 25 years mainly with software modeling of math equations of some sort. An=m I too old for this ?

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:11:21 +0000

In reply to shiwani. I think you should look at all our coverage of India on this site because it's a completely different market with strange dynamics and a very small market for IB hires, and if you don't go to one of the top few IIMs, you don't have a great chance. Your choice of major matters very little next to getting into one of the top IIMs... at least if you want to stay in India.

By: shiwani

shiwani — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 22:22:13 +0000

HELLO BRIAN, I am from india and currently applying for colleges. I am looking for economics major for dual degree but i am quite confuse what should i dual it with in order to work in investment banking ,will
bioinformatics be good combination with economics or should i look for some other majors combination.

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Mon, 22 May 2023 03:31:33 +0000

In reply to Adam W..

I’m not sure I would say that equity research is the “best entry point in finance” if you’re coming in from a different background and you have deep experience in some other industry. Sometimes that is true for certain verticals, such as biotech, but it’s more accurate to say that equity research offers advantages and disadvantages over other paths, such as traditional investment banking roles (less of a structured recruiting process, but also many fewer roles and more networking is required to get in).

You would probably have an easier time getting into consulting simply because they hire entire classes each year, and people are always moving around and leaving when they find something new.

A Master’s in Finance degree can definitely help (much more so than the CFA), at least if you go to a top school to do it. See our previous coverage of Master’s degrees on this site for a few examples.

The biggest point with all of this is that you need to get relevant work experience ASAP because even with a Master’s degree, you’ll need some type of internship to leverage the degree to win bigger/better roles.

By: Adam W.

Adam W. — Sat, 20 May 2023 14:26:58 +0000

Hello Brian,
Thanks for the great article. I am 28 years old, planning for a career change to finance. I graduated with a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering in 2020 and I have worked in textile industry and supply chain operations since then, however I totally lacked passion, therefore am looking for a career switch into Equity Research, especially after reading about the role and that it requires a very good report writing, which is my best skill. Is it really true that equity research is the best entry point in finance if I am coming from a different background, and have deep experience in specific industry ? Is management consulting in finance would be easier to break into than equity research?
I am planning on getting a masters degree in finance this September in the UK.
Is a masters degree in finance enough for that career switch or CFA level 1 at least?

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 13:17:45 +0000

In reply to su.

It is possible to get into IB via a 2-year MBA without much finance experience beforehand, so you do not “need” a pre-MBA internship necessarily. However, it does increase your chances, and you want every advantage you can get.

At the MBA level, ~50% of people who apply for IB roles at the top business schools end up winning at least one IB offer. Those are actually not great odds for the amount of time and money you spend on the degree.

So, would you rather roll the dice, even factoring in interview prep and networking, or would you rather do everything you can to maximize your chances?

The other issue is that you may not be able to tell recruiters or bankers much of a story if you have literally 0 finance experience before doing the degree. You want to have at least something because recruiting starts the minute you arrive on campus.

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/mba-investment-banking-recruiting-process/

By: su

su — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 13:01:56 +0000

Hi
You suggest in your article making the switch from eng to IB using a 2 year MBA with a summer IB internship is difficult, and requires relevant exp before doing that MBA. That is not what Ive heard or read from my research. It seems an established route, in the states, to do the above whilst not needing any finance exp prior to the MBA. Could you expand

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 19:44:56 +0000

In reply to Antoine. OK. If you want to do that and understand the trade-offs, it's fine. I'm not sure what your question is.

By: Antoine

Antoine — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 11:05:13 +0000

Hello Brian, I completed a bachelor in software engineering in Canada 1 year ago and currently work at a FAANG company in tech sales. I completed my CFA level 1 during my undergrad and I’ve always wanted to break into IB or PE and I recently got offered an M&A analyst role at a small firm. It would be a great learning opportunity but I would take a paycut. I was thinking of joining them for a year and then going with the MBA route to join one of the big 5 in Canada.