How can I spend the gap year better to break into PE/IBD?
Hey fellow monkeys,
Please help me out here. I am going to graduate from a top technical university in Germany soon with a master degree in electrical engineering. However in the second year at school I realized this is not the place which I want to end up with. Then I started reading financial books and materials from webs. My ultimate goal is to break into PE or IBD.
My plan is to firstly apply for a top master program in finance within Europe. I've contacted with few b-schools, seems like it won't be a problem for me to receive an offer from one of them. But the problem is I've missed out the application deadline for 2012 fall because of some stupid reasons. So I have to wait for another year. How should I spend this gap year? Would one year's experience in industry be helpful for the future career in finance, or I should just try as hard as I can to find a finance relevant position, or even this whole MSF idea is totally nonsense?
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
I'm not certain how far an MSF will help you in IBD and/or buyout private equity. From what I understand, MSF graduates tend to go into the trading and hedge fund worlds.
Thanks Sandhurst. I think there is a misinterpretation of MSF here, maybe I am wrong about this. I used MSF as a general designation for all financial related programs that are distinctively differentiated from MFE. To my knowledge many of the European b-schools offer MSF programs but with accent on either IB or corporate finance or others. Certainly I will take the first one.
btw, if MSF grad is not the main source for PE, then what? MBA and 2+ bankers?
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I don't know nor care about your financial conditions but why not try to get a job for the interim period? Save up some cash for b-school and develop some professional experience.
If you are actually serious about getting a career in finance despite the fact you just did a master's in electrical engineering:
Get an internship / internships in IB/PE/VC/finance during your gap year. It will put you in a MUCH better situation for recruiting if you enroll in a MSF in fall 2013, especially considering MSF's are only 1 year long. Without any previous/past experience in finance, getting a FT job, even out of a top MSF will be difficult and an uphill battle.
Otherwise, go get a real job with your engineering degree and work for 3-5 years and then go back and get an MBA and move into finance.
Thanks for your great insight, brutalglide.
Do you think getting a research work or whatever from professors in finance department would be a reasonable choice?
I've seen some senior students of mine follow the "3+ years of EE job experience -> MBA -> IB/PE etc." path as you mentioned in your last point. But I doubt to what extend the EE job experience would help their future career in finance, unless it's a finance related job in industry leader. However landing a finance job in industry is no easy at all for EE grads. So I think I will just stick with the internship then.
Obtaining a related gig as 'brutalglide' suggests seems ideal. Perhaps, with your EE knowledge you can land a finance gig at a reputable industry leader? It may help your transition story, and industry knowledge is always an asset.
My humble opinion.
Officia optio aut est quo sequi. Nemo provident aut excepturi ea aut. Est quis deleniti sunt debitis enim nihil.
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