Best pathway to investment banking?

I’m in year 11 and I’m thinking about going into investment banking in the future. I understand those positions are very competitive, and I was wondering, what do I have to do in terms of internships, networking, qualification and experience to give myself the best chance at being accepted. I know I’m not the most talented applicant by far so I want to give myself an edge so that why I’m asking so far in advance when I haven’t done my GCSE’s yet. I am doing Maths, Economics and Law at a level if that matters. Thank you for your time reading this.

It is impossible to know for sure but you can try your best.

My suggestion is to work hard to get strong grades to be able to attend the elite unis. That way, you have a better chance at internships, vacations schemes and insight weeks.

Here are suggestion courses:
Suggested unis: Oxford, Durham, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Bristol, St Andrews etc

To fine-tune it, i would suggest applying for PPE at Oxford (select Oriel or Pembroke College). Whilst there, you join the Oxford Union and other societies like Consulting etc. those societies would give you the best opportunities to network and advance your profile for your applications.

Good luck

Thank you, I have been looking and are thinking about applying to UCL, Durham, Bath, Nottingham and York. I’m not sure if I can convince myself that I can get into Oxford or Cambridge but I’ll have to see during year 12 and 13.

But what about internships, I’ve heard about spring weeks and summer one and I’m kind of lost, so you do internships first year if uni? Can you do any experience during sixth form college? More about that as I want to get as much experience as possible. Although I do really appreciate your response thank you again.

You have to aim for the top. If you have the grades, i would suggest that you try for Oxford or Cambridge. Maybe swap one of your 5 options for Oxbridge.

Most opportunities tend to come during your undergraduate programme. There may be pre-Uni opportunities but you would have to search for them on the online job boards like Targetjobs etc. Maybe google some companies and search for their internship opportunities. I know some finance firms like the Big 4 accountancy firms tend hold pre-Uni programmes for those in Sixth Form.

For undergraduate degree, you will have insight days or weeks in the first year. It is rare for students to have internships in the first year as they are starting off. Most internships come in the second year or penultimate year with potential job offers after graduate. Those internships tend to be summer vacation programmes that can be from 4 to 12 weeks depending on the company.

To maximise your chances, i would start looking at online job boards for internship and other opportunities, look at their entry requirements and research the companies. From now, you can build a profile of the company, what they are looking for and what job opportunities that they offer. You use the information to build your profile to match their requirements.

One of the reasons for suggesting unis is that you can join the relevant clubs or societies and they invite companies to speak and network. In addition, you have careers fairs from top employers attending many uni events.