1st Year Associate in IBD AMA
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Original post by Gladiatorsword
1. Do you have a busy season or do hours remain pretty constant throughout the year.
What tips would you give to an aspiring IB'er who hasnt started uni yet?
What tips would you give to an aspiring IB'er who hasnt started uni yet?
1. Jul/Aug are slow as everyone is typically on summer hols, and nothing much typically happens in December due to Xmas.
In between those periods, there is a general level of team business, but people's schedules are individual, i.e. there have been stretches where I would leave early and others in my team were getting killed, and vice versa - just depends on when deals start / close.
2. For people who are yet to start uni & for people in uni, I think biggest ways to make yourself competitive are:
a) to have good extracurricular activities that you can talk about in interviews - you want to do activities that are good examples for the skills banks look for in their competency interview s- leadership, teamwork, problem solving, decision making, showing initiative etc
b) try to get as much professional work experience as you can. it doesnt necessarily have to be in a bank/finance,. but that ofc is most ideal. Like for my summer pre-uni I cold email a bunch of small boutique banks and asked them if they were willing to take me on for the summer unpaid. Eventually got one that did, and it was this experience that secured me my spring internships and then my summer internship and so on.
A lot of people think all they need to get into banking is target uni + really high grades, but everyone applying has this. What a lot of people pre-uni or 1st and even 2nd year of uni dont have is work experience in a real professional environment. If you have that will really help to separate you from the crowd
c) get involved in finance society events & commnity at uni as this will help gain knowledge on banks hiring processes & interviews from friends in the society, whcih will obvs give you a competitive advantage
Hi there!
1. You state "target bias is a very real thing". Would you say the course prestige for this matters?
I'll be going to Warwick to study engineering, and while I got offers from arguably better engineering universities (i.e. Sheffield, Loughborough), I chose Warwick simply for the prestige of the university in areas such as IB and consultancy which I may hope to go into, as well as the general structure of it.
2. How many engineers from Warwick did you see go to IB FO , looking on linkedin it looks like the majority go into the tech-side which scares me a bit.
1. You state "target bias is a very real thing". Would you say the course prestige for this matters?
I'll be going to Warwick to study engineering, and while I got offers from arguably better engineering universities (i.e. Sheffield, Loughborough), I chose Warwick simply for the prestige of the university in areas such as IB and consultancy which I may hope to go into, as well as the general structure of it.
2. How many engineers from Warwick did you see go to IB FO , looking on linkedin it looks like the majority go into the tech-side which scares me a bit.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Sonnyjimisgod
Hi there!
You said you did 3 years of post-grad, at what point did you decide in your degree you wanted to do IB? Did you plan on doing post-grad within your first couple of years at uni?
You said you did 3 years of post-grad, at what point did you decide in your degree you wanted to do IB? Did you plan on doing post-grad within your first couple of years at uni?
3 years of IB after graduating*
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Original post by Princepieman
Sorry, just re-read. Am doing four tasks at once atm haha, will correct it.
Original post by Princepieman
how the f did mods know who it was already? unban him please, ridiculous.
Original post by welcometoib
how the f did mods know who it was already? unban him please, ridiculous.
WTF, I was genuinely waiting for a response too
. I don't think I can unban him Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Sonnyjimisgod
Hi there!
1. You state "target bias is a very real thing". Would you say the course prestige for this matters?
I'll be going to Warwick to study engineering, and while I got offers from arguably better engineering universities (i.e. Sheffield, Loughborough), I chose Warwick simply for the prestige of the university in areas such as IB and consultancy which I may hope to go into, as well as the general structure of it.
2. How many engineers from Warwick did you see go to IB FO , looking on linkedin it looks like the majority go into the tech-side which scares me a bit.
1. You state "target bias is a very real thing". Would you say the course prestige for this matters?
I'll be going to Warwick to study engineering, and while I got offers from arguably better engineering universities (i.e. Sheffield, Loughborough), I chose Warwick simply for the prestige of the university in areas such as IB and consultancy which I may hope to go into, as well as the general structure of it.
2. How many engineers from Warwick did you see go to IB FO , looking on linkedin it looks like the majority go into the tech-side which scares me a bit.
The second one is moot. You only get tech if you apply for tech, and engineers are more likely interested in tech vis a vis FO
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Original post by Princepieman
The second one is moot. You only get tech if you apply for tech, and engineers are more likely interested in tech vis a vis FO
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Yeh, looking back I guess I'm just nervous because I really want to get a spring week in the FO but understand how hard it will be. Hows your insights been so far man? Couldn't make the JP Morgan one, did I miss much?
Original post by welcometoib
how the f did mods know who it was already? unban him please, ridiculous.
What just happened?
Original post by Princepieman
Some follow ups:
1. Why the PE route vs staying as a career banker?
2. You said ~£600/m rent, how did you manage to get rent that low? Is there a long commute? Do you know the 'hotspots' for analysts/associates?
3. Where do you usually spend your holidays and how interrupted are they?
4. How does work in Power compare to other groups? UK coverage, M&A, TMT etc?
Finally:
5 Let's talk comp, what does a first year associate bring in typically? And what was your comp trajectory as an analyst?
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1. Why the PE route vs staying as a career banker?
2. You said ~£600/m rent, how did you manage to get rent that low? Is there a long commute? Do you know the 'hotspots' for analysts/associates?
3. Where do you usually spend your holidays and how interrupted are they?
4. How does work in Power compare to other groups? UK coverage, M&A, TMT etc?
Finally:
5 Let's talk comp, what does a first year associate bring in typically? And what was your comp trajectory as an analyst?
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have numbered your questions (see above). Will try and answer these as concisely as I can. Ask if you.d like more detail.
5. google "dartmouth partners analyst associate pay". These are the most reliable numbers.
3. Holidays not typically interrupted at Analyst / Associate level. At VP level and above, you will typically have to spend holiday still sending emails adn taking calls off your blackberry.
2. No secret to my low rent. I just took time to find somewhere cheap given I generally dont spend any time at home other than sleeping, decently furnished, and relatively close to work. Door to door commute is 35-40 mins for me. Used Spareroom site. No hotspots per se - people just try and live as close to work as possible. Most junior peopel in team live within 20 mins walk of office.
1. IBD = long hours, unpredictable schedule, and being a servant to clients for your whole career. PE = same kind of work, but you are the decision maker and you delegate most of the grunt work to the bankers anyway. It's obvious choice.
4. At most banks country coverage and the M&A team tend to me more focused on legal/process aspects of a deal - some exceptions though like Barclays M&A team who does more of the real work. Sector teams are typically the ones who do the actual work, i.e. modelling, sector expertise, arranging debt financing, coordinate due diligence & other advisors etc.
Original post by Roided
have numbered your questions (see above). Will try and answer these as concisely as I can. Ask if you.d like more detail.
5. google "dartmouth partners analyst associate pay". These are the most reliable numbers.
3. Holidays not typically interrupted at Analyst / Associate level. At VP level and above, you will typically have to spend holiday still sending emails adn taking calls off your blackberry.
2. No secret to my low rent. I just took time to find somewhere cheap given I generally dont spend any time at home other than sleeping, decently furnished, and relatively close to work. Door to door commute is 35-40 mins for me. Used Spareroom site. No hotspots per se - people just try and live as close to work as possible. Most junior peopel in team live within 20 mins walk of office.
1. IBD = long hours, unpredictable schedule, and being a servant to clients for your whole career. PE = same kind of work, but you are the decision maker and you delegate most of the grunt work to the bankers anyway. It's obvious choice.
4. At most banks country coverage and the M&A team tend to me more focused on legal/process aspects of a deal - some exceptions though like Barclays M&A team who does more of the real work. Sector teams are typically the ones who do the actual work, i.e. modelling, sector expertise, arranging debt financing, coordinate due diligence & other advisors etc.
5. google "dartmouth partners analyst associate pay". These are the most reliable numbers.
3. Holidays not typically interrupted at Analyst / Associate level. At VP level and above, you will typically have to spend holiday still sending emails adn taking calls off your blackberry.
2. No secret to my low rent. I just took time to find somewhere cheap given I generally dont spend any time at home other than sleeping, decently furnished, and relatively close to work. Door to door commute is 35-40 mins for me. Used Spareroom site. No hotspots per se - people just try and live as close to work as possible. Most junior peopel in team live within 20 mins walk of office.
1. IBD = long hours, unpredictable schedule, and being a servant to clients for your whole career. PE = same kind of work, but you are the decision maker and you delegate most of the grunt work to the bankers anyway. It's obvious choice.
4. At most banks country coverage and the M&A team tend to me more focused on legal/process aspects of a deal - some exceptions though like Barclays M&A team who does more of the real work. Sector teams are typically the ones who do the actual work, i.e. modelling, sector expertise, arranging debt financing, coordinate due diligence & other advisors etc.
Cheers for the insight again, really appreciate it!
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Original post by Sonnyjimisgod
Hi there!
1. You state "target bias is a very real thing". Would you say the course prestige for this matters?
I'll be going to Warwick to study engineering, and while I got offers from arguably better engineering universities (i.e. Sheffield, Loughborough), I chose Warwick simply for the prestige of the university in areas such as IB and consultancy which I may hope to go into, as well as the general structure of it.
2. How many engineers from Warwick did you see go to IB FO , looking on linkedin it looks like the majority go into the tech-side which scares me a bit.
1. You state "target bias is a very real thing". Would you say the course prestige for this matters?
I'll be going to Warwick to study engineering, and while I got offers from arguably better engineering universities (i.e. Sheffield, Loughborough), I chose Warwick simply for the prestige of the university in areas such as IB and consultancy which I may hope to go into, as well as the general structure of it.
2. How many engineers from Warwick did you see go to IB FO , looking on linkedin it looks like the majority go into the tech-side which scares me a bit.
if you want to get into IB / finance / consulting, you made the right decision. Warwick is more highly regarded by miles compared to other two unis you mentioned.
If you're at a target, course generally doesnt matter too much as long as its a respectable degree. Engineering is fine for FO IBD and S&T&R. As PPM said, you see more engineers in Tech because more of them go for that - in fact when I did my summmer internship pretty much all the engineering guys I knew at Warwick interested in finance were interning in Tech.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Terry Tibbs
1. Indeed. How many people do you know from your firm in FO positions that went to semi-targets or non-targets?
2. Also at what point in your life did you discover IB and decide it's what you want to do?
2. Also at what point in your life did you discover IB and decide it's what you want to do?
1. Cant give you specific figures exactly, but when I interned back in 2012 I remembere there was a file someone made cataloguing unis of all spring & summer interns acrosss the top banks, and around 80% of that was made up of core 6 target unis (70%) + small handful of European targets (Bocconi, SSE etc). So other 20% was semis & non targets, and they were pretty much all Russel Group or higher on league tables.
Have like 16 Analys and Assocites in my team (relatively quite a big team as far as IBD teams go), and ratio of [targets]:[semis + non-targets] is in line with the above (80/20).
2. Amazes me that most students dont think about what what they can do to secure a grad job until they get to final year of uni. Unless you go into academia, only reason to go to uni is so that you can access higher paid bracket of jobs.
I was thinking about career before uni tbh. Decided IBD was what I wanted to do when I found out how much they get paid
My division, IBD is very demanding job and whilst it is great to do for a few years to learn a lot about business and make quite a lot of money in a short time, its not a field many people want to commit to for their whole career because of how long hours can be & how unpredictable work schedule can be.(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Roided
if you want to get into IB / finance / consulting, you made the right decision. Warwick is more highly regarded by miles compared to other two unis you mentioned.
If you're at a target, course generally doesnt matter too much as long as its a respectable degree. Engineering is fine for FO IBD and S&T&R. As PPM said, you see more engineers in Tech because more of them go for that - in fact when I did my summmer internship pretty much all the engineering guys I knew at Warwick interested in finance were interning in Tech.
If you're at a target, course generally doesnt matter too much as long as its a respectable degree. Engineering is fine for FO IBD and S&T&R. As PPM said, you see more engineers in Tech because more of them go for that - in fact when I did my summmer internship pretty much all the engineering guys I knew at Warwick interested in finance were interning in Tech.
Cheers man! Assuming you're Nightmare Abyss.
Currently working on my spring week applications for IBD - I have some prior experience in boutiques for the CV, but not much "leadership experience" per se etc., and am hoping to to become a student rep or something equivalent at Uni to use that as an example.
In your opinion is it best to send my applications (well written ofc) asap and make up some example for those categories, or wait a couple of months?
Really appreciate the AMA, btw!
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In your opinion is it best to send my applications (well written ofc) asap and make up some example for those categories, or wait a couple of months?
Really appreciate the AMA, btw!
Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Nightmare Abyss
A lot of people think all they need to get into banking is target uni + really high grades, but everyone applying has this. What a lot of people pre-uni or 1st and even 2nd year of uni dont have is work experience in a real professional environment. If you have that will really help to separate you from the crowd
A lot of people think all they need to get into banking is target uni + really high grades, but everyone applying has this. What a lot of people pre-uni or 1st and even 2nd year of uni dont have is work experience in a real professional environment. If you have that will really help to separate you from the crowd
Lol I think this aspect pretty much saved me. Pretty mediocre grades by IB internship applicant standards... but I've had an office job for about 8 years now (doing actual office **** and not just admin)...
So are you planning to stay in IB to try and make MD? What made you stick around over jumping ship to the buy side?
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by TheGuyReturns
Lol I think this aspect pretty much saved me. Pretty mediocre grades by IB internship applicant standards... but I've had an office job for about 8 years now (doing actual office **** and not just admin)...
So are you planning to stay in IB to try and make MD? What made you stick around over jumping ship to the buy side?
So are you planning to stay in IB to try and make MD? What made you stick around over jumping ship to the buy side?
Lol he said that he's definitely wanting to move to the buy-side, and being interviewed for PE
and he's right, the grass is generally so much greener on the other sidePosted from TSR Mobile
(edited 7 years ago)
congrats
would you recommend heading to buy-side (PE/Credit Focused Fund) as a grad if the opportunity arises?
would you recommend heading to buy-side (PE/Credit Focused Fund) as a grad if the opportunity arises?
Original post by gr8wizard10
congrats
would you recommend heading to buy-side (PE/Credit Focused Fund) as a grad if the opportunity arises?
would you recommend heading to buy-side (PE/Credit Focused Fund) as a grad if the opportunity arises?
The guy got banned
Original post by Trapz99
The guy got banned
Must have been a troll with a known IP address I suppose... :/
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