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Yeah fair enough... by the time you hit 21 you could be ready to go into the world of work rather than still gaining qualifications... though doing both's possible in accountancy.
Reply 41
Jools
It's notorious for being a bit boring though, and where a lot of grads head off to if they don't succeed with IB applications. Btw I know you're looking at doing an arts degree, but if you are considering Accounting then I'd say go for Maths and another science (/Economics) at AS/A2.


mathematics and economics., now thats a tough degree
TheWolf
mathematics and economics., now thats a tough degree

I said for AS/A2, not for degree.

On that note, what do you think is the toughest degree? I'd say Oxford's EEM triple whammy - Engineering, Economics & Management.
Jools
On that note, what do you think is the toughest degree? I'd say Oxford's EEM triple whammy - Engineering, Economics & Management.
EEM isn't that bad, it's basically engineering with some simple economics and management thrown in; very interesting course though. Hardest, probable medicine, maybe maths.
Reply 44
BazTheMoney
EEM isn't that bad, it's basically engineering with some simple economics and management thrown in; very interesting course though. Hardest, probable medicine, maybe maths.


Surely it depends on the person, some people may really struggle with a Maths degree but fly through English and vice versa.
Reply 45
Jools
It's fine, a few are asking out of interest. £500/week for 10-12 weeks. At the 'bulge bracket' banks this can be £650-700/week for 12 weeks for penultimate year internships. But the workload means this could equate to under £10/hr!

Definitely not a prerequisite, I met a guy who is interning at Goldman Sachs who got a 3rd in his first year. But a 1st is useful to stand out from the crowd, as competition gets fiercer year on year.

I'm at a 'tier 2' bank; LSE and Nottingham are popular locations. At the bulge bracket places Oxbridge and LSE are the most dominant.


That is a lot of money for a student, what do you plan to do with it all.btw since you don't live in London are you staying with someone you know or renting a place, just being nosy.
Is it the IB department you're working in, and how many hours are you doing? Oh yeh do you work Sundays too, because i've heard bankers work weekends?
Is it possible to obtain an internship after your first year or are they open only to second years?
Sorry about all the questions, I just don't know real insiders, maybe i'll go to the city bars and suck up to some VP's, lol.
Jools
I don't think those applying met the 95:5 finance:non finance ratio that's evident for those accepted. A lot of people doing History, English etc particularly at top 10 unis try entering the city and get knocked back. As I said it's not that surprising when the competition is fierce for an employer to choose a 'safe bet' economics or maths student rather than taking a risk with someone evidently good at their arts subject but with not so much evidence of numeric skills. And even then, I know someone doing Theology who has a lot of financial experience (business manager, treasurer...) who didn't get very far with IBs - employers may also (fairly) reckon that those studying a related degree are likely to have more genuine primary interest in the field.
Let me think. When I went on my first internships a few years back, probable about 75% of the applicants were from an Economics/Finance related degree, and about 85% of the interns were from that sector. Also these genres of students will have the characteristics that the IB's require; and score highly in psychometric testing. I'm very confident that even if I had been doing Classics, my changes wouldn't of been effected, I just happened to read PPE.

The actual degree is a minimal issue, certainly by working inside such an organisation I realised it didn't matter
Reply 47
BazTheMoney
Let me think. When I went on my first internships a few years back, probable about 75% of the applicants were from an Economics/Finance related degree, and about 85% of the interns were from that sector. Also these genres of students will have the characteristics that the IB's require; and score highly in psychometric testing. I'm very confident that even if I had been doing Classics, my changes wouldn't of been effected, I just happened to read PPE.

The actual degree is a minimal issue, certainly by working inside such an organisation I realised it didn't matter


what positions in an IB are we talking about?
Reply 48
Hey Jools, congrats on landing an internship.
I am interested in becoming an economist at a city bank, do you know the career path one may take to reach such positions, I heard a masters is often a requirement.
Thanks
PuffDaddy
That is a lot of money for a student, what do you plan to do with it all.btw since you don't live in London are you staying with someone you know or renting a place, just being nosy.

Summer internships for penultimate year students result in a number having a 5k or so bank balance, the envy of overdraft-ridden peers. I'm not going to have much left actually; am being ripped off £140/week for UCL accommodation. Basically the students have too much money and don't know what to do with it, resulting in paying £300 to sit at a table in Attica on Saturday night...
PuffDaddy
Is it the IB department you're working in, and how many hours are you doing? Oh yeh do you work Sundays too, because i've heard bankers work weekends?

I'm in foreign exchange, and yesterday was here 9am till 10.30pm. Partly because I wasted half the time on this stupid website...
PuffDaddy
Is it possible to obtain an internship after your first year or are they open only to second years?

Rarely an official internship, but it's possible to get work exp at banks, even through temping.
PuffDaddy
, I just don't know real insiders, maybe i'll go to the city bars and suck up to some VP's, lol.


... According to American Psycho, bankers only drink at certain bars.
Reply 51
I am doing History at LSE next year, but was thinking of a career in Tax. I know that History isn't exactly the most desirable subject. I have had a look at the main 4 accountancy firms that take on tax graduates and most just say 2.1 in any subject from a good university, will I be ok? To be honest, I'm much better at Economics than I am at History, but I'd rather do something I enjoy for three years because Economics at A-level was really dull. I'm sure if non-Economics graduates can show a detailed knowledge of the financial world, on top of having broader skills, that they would be as desirable, if not more so. It depends on how you sell yourself really.
It's simple - doing History rather than Economics at degree level will be a disadvantage when applying for finance-related careers. I also fell into the "do whatever subject you enjoy most" trap... there's an increasing assumption these days that your degree should relate to your career path. I constantly get "So, what do you want to do with a geography degree?" or "IB? But you study geography" :mad:
Reply 53
H&E
I'm not sure that BossLady attends St. Paul's Girls' School, but the latter is certainly a place to which IB's just turn up offering short summer placements. It seems you barely even have to make an effort to get in.


No I don't attend St Paul's ..... however they may have also been told by this particular IB about the programme.
BTW this programme was quite competitive to get on to...that's one thing everyone has to realise before they apply...IB's are extremely competitive, I doubt very much that other IB's who offer St P's students placements, let them get on without a massive effort, even if they are only competiting internally (probably not the case, although the IB may guarantee their school say 1/2/3 places at least on the placement ), remember St P's have some of the cleverest students in the country, so competing against the top ppl in the school is hardly going to be easy for anyone.

My point is that to suggest people from St P's get into IBs with nearly no effort, is also similar to suggesting people from say Oxbridge also get in with no effort. It might be true that IBs go recruiting to St Ps...I don't really know...but IBs also go recrutiing to Oxbridge don't they? This is natural for any company to do...go towards where they will find the best students....and I yet I detect a large amount of resentment in your post...

edit: in case anyone finds it useful...there were 2 stages in mine...the application stage...and then the phone-interview stage. Some people weren't even called for a phone-interview after they'd sent in their app, and they had 3A+ predicitons, v good uni offers + something extra etc...
Jools
It's simple - doing History rather than Economics at degree level will be a disadvantage when applying for finance-related careers. I also fell into the "do whatever subject you enjoy most" trap... there's an increasing assumption these days that your degree should relate to your career path. I constantly get "So, what do you want to do with a geography degree?" or "IB? But you study geography" :mad:



Do you regret Geog?
Yes. However I made up for doing a 'joke' degree elsewhere, so in the long run it may not be a big deal.
Reply 56
yo jools. got ur PM and found this thread. yeah well anyway i wanna join. last year i was doing Maths, econ and physics at A2 level. waiting for results in august. well depending on them i am gonna read econ at either warwick or LSE in october.

i wanna be an investment banker too. but not obthered as long as i make a hell of a lot of money
Reply 57
I'm quite aware that History is a disadvantage but I'm sure there are ways you can make up for it. I think the key is to prove that you are serious about the job and that you are more than able to compete with those who have non relevant degrees. To be honest, a non relevant degree from somewhere good (+ a working knowledge of finance) will get you a hell of a lot further than a relevant degree from a joke university. You must have sold yourself well, because you have an internship :-)
claire1985
You must have sold yourself well, because you have an internship :-)

I'm an exception rather than the norm; as I said out of 44 here, 3 are doing non-relevant degree subjects; of whom one wants to do a Masters in Economics, the other doing law but specialising in M&A. I was given a chance on the basis of 'transferrable skills' - i.e. that alertness, teamwork, communicationskills, stamina etc evident elsewhere could be transferred to an IB environment despite not having a finance-related background. Other places may not have given me a look-in however if I'd applied there.
Reply 59
It's a marked change from the days of History graduates being the main IB workers, getting in big law firms/IBs etc seems much more difficult now that 30/40 years ago.