Summer analyst roles for 1 year master students?

Hi everyone,

I was not really sure where to post this, but it seemed appropriate here.

I'm about to start an MSc in finance at a good european university, and am considering a career in IB (London, Paris etc.). I have no prior experience in IB, so I suppose my chances of getting a SA offer are much higher than a FT offer.

My issue is that my program is only 1 year long, and therefore I will only be able to do an internship during the summer (when I graduate). I heard that some banks are flexible and allow final year students to apply for SA positions. Has anyone experienced this situation?

I should also say that I'm not really focused on prestige, and would gladly work for a smaller boutique IB. Could smaller firms be more flexible on previous work experience and consider me for a FT position?

Looking forward to receiving any feedback!

 
Best Response

Yes, you can do a summer internship after graduation from a Master''s degree at most major banks without any problem in London. They are flexible. If they hire you, you can usually start right afterwards or in January, depending on the banks.

I know this because I have got several interviews and offers for SA positions in London, and I'm studying for a Master's in a UK university. I know of many people in the same situation as me who got interviews and offers as well. Credit Suisse is the only bank where I haven't heard of any final years or Masters students interviewing at. But I only know a sample of all Master's students.

In Asia it seems a bit trickier as in some of the banks websites you are automatically screened out if you are a final year student (I am thinking of JPMorgan in Asia for instance). However I was invited for an AC for a summer analyst position in Asia at another bank, so it is possible for a Master's student to get an internship there as well. No idea about the US though.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks a million! Im only looking for opportunities in Europe so thats definitely helpful. Have you also applied for FT IB roles in smaller shops (or heard of other students who got interviews/offers) ?

Thanks again !!!

 

Is knowledge of Asian languages asides English compulsory,

 

Helic pretty much summed it up. Quite a few banks let master students apply for their summer internship programmes. And by the sounds of it, you can speak French and will be attending Imperial / Lse so you will have plenty of opportunities to network.

Bitch please, I love bananas! If you found my advice useful, hit me up with one.
 

It's totally possible, usually careers website at banks mention boldly if they accept ONLY penultimate years/ undergrads. If not, then they are usually flexible but if it's ambiguous the best advice is to reach out to HR or ask someone at a networking event if it makes sense for you to apply.

As you're thinking, if you don't have previous experience you're much better off applying to summer (though at this stage of the year most of recruiting is already passed)

 

You are meet the requirements of CPA after completion of the program. (30 semester hours of accounting after the completion of the program)

Education Requirements

150 semester hours are NOT required to sit for the CPA Exam in Georgia.

Exam candidates in Georgia must hold a bachelor’s degree at minimum with an accounting concentration. The degree must consist of at least 20 semester hours (30 quarter hours) of upper level accounting subjects.

My question is since the program is tailored to working professionals, hence the Tuesday and Thursday night classes, would the big 4 hire you as an intern while you are taking graduate classes, or do they solely look for undergraduate students?

 

I only applied to the school I got into. I only got low 600's on the GMAT and with a low GPA I knew my options were limited so I only applied to one school. Not the best plan of action but I am happy where I am at minus the whole no internship thing.

 

If your job field is in Houston then focus on Houston. Hit up your network while you're doing this - really keep all possible options possible. Worst case scenario you might score an okay job you don't want in Portland but that's better than nothing. I have zero input on who's recruiting - will leave my comment blank for that question.

 

Thank you and apologies for the late reply - was in the midst of exams. finally over now.

To answer #1, how would BB's accept me? Under their recruitment portal, I would have to mention that I'm a penultimate student, and that I have to state which uni I'm currently studying at. If I fill in the drop down box that I've already graduated (from undergrad), then wouldn't I immediately get eliminated from the system?

 

this is kind of a lot. Definitely start talking to people now but don't discount the wealth mgmt/private banking stuff, if it is a decent firm it could be a good foot in the door to get in somewhere else or you could even possibly make an internal change. AM and HF are definitely different on certain levels depending on what you see yourself doing, what kind of quantitative skills do you have? Any quant type classes you can take at any of these MSFs? Do you know what the on campus recruiting presence is like at each of the MSFs you are applying to so that you can use that to weigh in when its time to make your decision?

 

I want to work as an analyst in investment management to be specific (no trading/sales). I don't really know anything about quant skills that relate to finance, but I have done some modeling training through WSP, I'm taking the CFA this summer, have a series 7, read investment books (about 5-6 so far), and follow companies to try to put a few ER reports together. It would be great to get an internship that has some kind of relevancy to that. I'm leaning on a F500 FA type of internship as that might get me some modeling experience. I would consider a wealth management internship if it were full time and paid as I described, but every posting that I've seen is very mediocre and 10-15 hours a week.

 

You can definitely apply and I've heard of ppl getting it, although rare. Apply and target anything you can.

I'd note that if you apply to a SA gig you'd probably have more success if you got a contact at the firm first. Or HR. You'll have to explain why a masters student wants to do a SA role vs FT.

 

Appreciate the response, what is the best method of contacting HR? do they have a general contact email posted on their websites? Also, my main concern with SA is that they usually give the FT offers at the end of the summer to begin the following June correct? given that I will have already graduated, would they consider giving a FT offer to start immediately?

 

Some banks accept final years candidates for SA, some don't. In London for example I know that GS, MS and UBS do accept final years while CS and DB do not. You just have to apply as everyone else.

Then, the question is: should you apply for SA or FT? For London, I recommend SA whatever happens as FT hiring is extremely limited. Some banks aim to fill close to 100% of their analyst class with summer interns.

I did a one year master, broke into banking through SA and so did most of my friends from the same master. I can only recall one guy who got an offer for FT straight without SA, and he had a very strong background prior to the masters.

 

Quick note -- by SA, you mean summer analyst, not associate, correct?

If so: sure. Some don't (BarCap comes to mind), but the vast majority do. And even with the ones that "don't" accept masters students for their SA programs, they're definitely willing to bend the rules if they like you a lot.

I got an internship the summer before doing a one-year masters program abroad after undergrad -- after I explained my situation to recruiters, nobody seemed to mind too much.

 

Yes your school is notoriously hard in the bio classes (heard from friends, i was in finance myself). Id try and keep overall GPA > 3.0; in my experience (went to grad school in EU) grades definitely werent the only thing the schools were looking at.

Summer recruiters however do mostly look at GPA, thats the first thing that gets you through the door and attracts attention to the rest of your CV. If you have 3.0 or lower, BB and even MM arent interested.

 
zeropower:
Yes your school is notoriously hard in the bio classes (heard from friends, i was in finance myself). Id try and keep overall GPA > 3.0; in my experience (went to grad school in EU) grades definitely werent the only thing the schools were looking at.

Summer recruiters however do mostly look at GPA, thats the first thing that gets you through the door and attracts attention to the rest of your CV. If you have 3.0 or lower, BB and even MM arent interested.

But if you come out with cGPA ~ 3.0, and GPA in math / finance / econ courses > 3.5, will they bother looking your "finance-relevant" GPA?

Ps nice pic haha

 

You sound like me some weeks ago. I've called numerous admissions departments and talked with my professors on the subject and the resounding reply is always just keep focused now. What about the past can be reconciled by looking back? Keep performing, find out what the specific schools you will be applying to look for in candidates (outside of GPA and Major), and most importantly never count yourself out. I spoke with ANT not too long ago and he said that an R1 application is definately helpful in order to allow them to raise and round out the GPA and GMAT scores (a great GMAT definately brings balance to a poor cumulative GPA when the GPA shows improvement) in the latter rounds. So stay positive and try to work closely with your professors (especially the ones with good backgrounds; and yes you should look up their backgrounds) so that you can get great letters of recommendation, and I have no doubt you'll be set. Good thing about being in our position is that you feel so far behind, that you won't even realize when you do pass everyone else. The liability moves to the asset side and balances the equation haha.

 

From what MFE admissions people have told me, they focus much more on the grades you received in math and quantitative courses than anything else. I'd imagine that finance programs are somewhat similar.

Obviously, they are going to take other courses into consideration but I wouldn't at all be surprised if they would weight the grades you received in those particular courses that you mentioned more.

 

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