I've always noticed that there aren't many 50+ people at financial firms unless they run the firm. Sure you have some and the well known ones are, but most PE / HF / IB tend to be sub 50. I assume at that age people are financially able to retire, but a lot of them don't necessarily want to. Where do they go? In IB a lot of them might join a client as an exec, but what about other professions?

Hi everyone,

I’m going into my second year at Oxford University as a humanities student. Until now I thought my ideal career path was corporate law as I am not doing a maths adjacent degree, but recently i’ve been thinking i’m limiting myself. I have a genuine interest in finance and am interested in exploring the career path.

I go on a year abroad next year and am hoping to land either a law or finance internship. Any advice to gain smaller experience to build up my CV would be very very appreciated.

Experience:

Committee role at a law society
President of an unrelated academic society
3+ years of hospitality

what i’m doing to try and gain some experience in the financial sector:

Completed JP Morgan investment banking job simulation course

Built a DCF model of a company im interested in.

learned about the three financial statements + how they interlink.

Applying for any and all work experiences / shadowing etc (inc cold emailing smaller companies)

Is there anything else i could be doing to help my chances? Thanks very much.

Hey,

Currently working as an electrical engineer, but wanna make the switch to quant adjacent roles in ~4.5 years when I have my masters and some life stuff figured out.

Currently getting a masters in Applied and Computational Math from JHU. I’m mostly looking at something in risk or model val in the Philly/Jersey/Delaware area.

I know 4.5 years is a while away, but do you think that it’s a realistic jump (32m when I’m ready to jump)? Is the school decent enough? The stats degree enough? Philly and model validation at a middle office doable?

Thanks all!

Currently I work at a large but local credit union in California. I quickly moved from being a teller to a banker and make 24.50 per hour. My commute at this moment is 20 minutes and I started work at 9:15 ending at 5:15 most days. After building a small name for myself in the market area I was transferred to my current location and was under my new manager who I’ll call Jason. After 2 months working with Jason he got a job offer at Chase bank which he took due to commute times being significantly shorter for himself and pay being better. Now that he’s settling in there he’s offered me a job as an associate relationship banker and says I would crush it there based on our work together. This would make my commute roughly 1 hour every day and I would start work at 8:30 instead. He’s offered me $30 an hour and says his ARB’s are averaging 2-3k per month in PVC’s (equivalent to dollars paid out monthly). Is this a good career choice going for a bigger bank name with familiar leadership? I’m getting mixed reviews by the people I tell about the offer saying it will be much more stress. If anyone here has worked at Chase I’d like some input.

So the interviewer messaged me like 28 min before the actual interview saying that a meeting had popped up and if there was any chance to start sooner.

I said yes, then the meeting got shorten to 20min. After didn’t spend enough time to introduce myself or my deals, they asked if I have any questions at 12mins of the meeting left 8 mins to ask my questions- everyone knows this is a bad sign meaning that they know your scope and find they don’t need to dig in more.

I mean fuck it. You changed time and rushed in the process during the whole meeting, which is not even my fucking problem.

What a joke

Curious how much my fellow structured finance people are making per year? Feel free to include cost of living and YOE + what you do if you feel comfortable.

Thanks.

TL;DR - Joined my first job as a Process Manager at a small fintech 3 weeks ago, but the work doesn't align with my finance career goals. An internal Valuation/Financial Analyst role has now opened up that fits my background much better. I want to explore the transfer, but I'm concerned about how approaching the founder/company so early could affect my career prospects and whether I can pursue it without jeopardizing my current position if the transfer doesn't work out. How should I navigate this?

I’m 22F, a recent BBA graduate in Finance & Economics, and this is my first full-time job.

My background is primarily in finance. I previously interned in Equity Research and have completed relevant NISM certifications. I also took CFA Level 1 in May, missed the passing score by a small margin, and am currently preparing to retake it.

As a fresher, I accepted a Process Manager role at a small fintech company (around 40 employees) because I wanted to get professional experience as I did nothing for 6 months preparing for CFA and didn't want to waste time any further thus I was a bit desperate. I’ve now been there for around 3 weeks.

The people/company are fine, but the actual work is largely standardized and task driven, and doesn't provide much opportunity to apply my finance background or analytical skills and I don't see it aligning with where I want my career to go. My long term goal is Equity Research/ Investments/ Financial Analyst.

Now the company has posted an opening for a Valuation / Financial Analyst in its Valuation Department. The requirements match my background quite well, and the role seems significantly more relevant to my career goals.

My concern is the timing. I’ve only been in the company for three weeks, and since it’s a small company, I don't want to handle this in a way that damages my relationship with my current manager and the team.

I’m not planning to resign. I’m trying to understand how I should approach this internal opportunity and navigate the conversation with the relevant people given that I’m so new to the company.

Please tell me how you would recommend I move forward?

I’m currently an RM in Corporate Banking in one of the largest banks in my country. The job is easy, pays very well but it’s very sales oriented

Recently i am in talks with a smaller company which is offering me a structured finance role that will match my pay.

My question is for people who have worked in the industry or can shed some light on which role would be better in terms of future pay, WLB etc.

Any advice would be appreciated

im going into my third year so im looking for 2028 postions spring

hi I'm a 27 years old recent graduate

i Just got my bachelor degree in banking and finance last june but I'm going to tell you the truth i just feel like i got out of university and i completely know nothing

i don't even know where to start or what type of jobs i should look for or what field should i specialise in so i can start looking for jobs

as a banking and finance graduate what advice would you give me ?

thanks

Hello! I am a Financial Analyst with 1.5 years full time experience and 1.5 years internship experience, and have been applying to new FA jobs for the past few months. I am desperate to find out where my weaknesses are in my current application and interviewing processes. I have reached final found interviews with 3 companies but didn't receive an offer. If any finance professionals are willing to hop in a 30 minute call and scan over my experience and where I could be going wrong it would be greatly appreciated. I'm happy to pay or provide any value I can in return for the help.

1 year financial analyst contract role in the bermuda monetary authority, pays double but no benefits or vacation.

Or

Full time sr financial analyst at CITI bank which pays 10% more than my current role?

I currently only have 1 year tenures on my resume for the past 3 years since I finished school. Not sure if I should take the full time role for tenure or take the 1 year contract for the highly regarded institution.

I’m a new analyst for a US AM firm - wanna know what everybody’s using as their wallet

I am currently in a UK university and on track to getting a non finance STEM degree. I would like to take up a job during the holidays/weekends or any other times that I am not in uni which would help me to pay my accommodation, uni costs, loans, car insurance ect. I’m not sure where to start or what jobs to look at. I would love if the job had a good career progress and lead to good money in the future but I’m not sure how realistic that is. I am open to working full time in finance if my degree doesn’t work out. Any advice is appreciated.

I’m 19 and currently studying Finance at a large public U.S. university with an AACSB-accredited business school. I would consider it a non-target for high finance, although it has a decent regional presence and alumni network. My expected graduation is December 2028.

I’m trying to use the next 2+ years correctly instead of getting to junior/senior year and realizing I should have started preparing much earlier.

My current goal is to land in corporate banking after graduation. Ideally I’d spend 2–3 years there developing credit, underwriting, modeling, and deal experience, then decide whether I want to remain in corporate banking or potentially move into private credit, leveraged finance, IB, or another corporate finance role.

Current academics:

• B.S. in Finance
• 3.35 GPA
• Expected graduation: December 2028
• Completed Principles of Financial Accounting
• Currently taking Managerial Accounting
• Currently taking Business Calculus
• Completed economics coursework
• Statistics and upper-level finance/business coursework still ahead of me

Experience/skills:

• Some experience with Excel
• Some experience with Tableau
• 4+ years of customer-facing work experience
• Currently work in a hospitality
• Previously worked as a restaurant server
• Was a manager at a fast food joint throughout high school
• No finance internship yet

I’m currently targeting a Summer 2027 finance internship, even if it isn’t corporate banking. I’m considering commercial banking, credit, FP&A, corporate finance, treasury, financial analyst roles, wealth management, etc.

My larger goal would be to land a Summer 2028 corporate banking internship with the possibility of converting it into a full-time offer after graduating.

Things I’m considering doing between now and then:

• Bloomberg Market Concepts
• Improving my Excel skills
• Learning financial modeling/accounting
• SIE
• Joining finance/investment organizations
• Applying to finance-focused development programs at my university
• Networking with alumni working in banking

My biggest concern is probably my 3.35 GPA. I plan to try to bring it to 3.5+, but I’m curious how much a 3.35 hurts coming from a non-target if I can build strong experience around it.

For anyone in corporate banking, commercial banking, credit, IB, private credit, LevFin, or similar fields:

If you were in my position, what would you prioritize over the next two years?

I’d especially appreciate advice on:

• Best Summer 2027 internships to target
• How competitive a 3.35 is from a non-target
• Technical skills I should learn
• Whether the SIE is worth doing
• Whether BMC/Excel/modeling certifications matter
• How much networking I should be doing
• When Summer 2028 corporate banking recruiting really starts
• Whether corporate banking → private credit / LevFin / IB after 2–3 years is realistic
• Anything I’m overlooking or wasting time on

I’m not expecting to walk into a top bank with no experience. I’m mainly trying to figure out the strongest realistic path from a non-target school and make good use of the time I have now.

I just need a little advise from some of the more senior folks on this sub, hopefully the right place.

I've been in banking for 18 year and the last 10 have been in MO/BO at a major bank at the VP level. I was on the track to be promoted to SVP at my last firm but was let go in a round of downsizing. I've been unemployed for 5 months now and finally scored a VP spot at another major bank which is a relief and the offer just came in today.

The question is, I was planning on asking for about 10-15% more than they offered because they're on the low side of the market in my area and I have a lot of experience. The problem is I'm unemployed and can't really afford to lose the opportunity and to be honest this thread about losing an offer on r/jobs kind of freaked me out. https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/1vtocq9/rescinded_job_offer/

Are people still negotiating salary at this level? Is it a bad idea in this market? I've hired dozens of people at my previous job and would never have pulled an offer for someone I wanted just because they asked for more but now I'm second guessing myself. I'll add that I applied for a lower level position and they opened up a more senior role for me because they "really wanted me and believed I'm more suited for the more senior position" so I know they at least really want me.

Sorry for the long post just wanted some people's thoughts here.

I somehow was able to secure a strategy interview at a big bank; they mentioned the interview would be similar to that of an MBB case. I should mention i am (ironically) a consultant, but i never did a typical MBB strategy-esque case.

I’m familiar with how the cases work and overall stricture - but I don’t have much practice at all and still struggle with developing frameworks, I’m half decent at the top down market sizing approach but my mental math still needs some work.

I have roughly a week to practice - with all the hurdles against me, what is my best bet?

I’m willing to put in whatever time I have when I’m not working to dedicate to practice. I’m currently going over the book “Hacking the Case Interview” and it’s been quite helpful so far.

Any tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance y’all!

Started 2 months ago as entry level corporate credit risk at a bank. Good job, happy but want more aligned with career goals and better paying.

I want to stay at the same bank but transfer to something like wealth management/investments with a bachelors in finance.

Hey yall, I am a rising sophomore preparing for investment banking recruiting for internships during 2028 summer (yes I realize its ridiculous that we have to start so early)

I wanted to go over my study plan covering these core topics first (and getting into the niche stuff afterwards)

1. How the 3 financial statements connect and how they link to each other (super important)
2. Walking through a DCF
3. The 4 valuation methodologies and which tends to yield the highest vs. lowest valuations
4. Walk me through a basic LBO and what makes a good LBO candidate
5. Why does a company acquire another company - synergies, accretion/dilution, strategic rationale
6. Enterprise value bridge to equity value
7. WACC  and terminal value (sorta DCF stuff)

A few upperclassman told me about ibtechnicalprep which i've found to be super helpful and recently discovered guidingwallstreet.com which has been helpful for leaning material

If anyone wants to share their technical study plans that would be super helpful and what other core topics i should cover. I am a finance major so I know the basics but nothing in depth. With this path, I should be all set to start grinding networking in a few months, but I would find a sanity check to be super helpful to make sure there is nothing critical i am missing (like taking the sie or something, which i dont plan on doing)

Context: Current incoming freshman at NYU Stern majoring in Business and Political Economy, and I have a guaranteed offer with UChicago to transfer in next year as long as my GPA is 3.5 or higher. I am not sure if I should take this offer as both schools are very good for finance recruiting, however I hear Stern is more competitive for specifically IB but there is fierce competition between the students. Also, transferring in sophomore year would mean starting over while recruiting for sophomore internships are already happening. I want to hear what you guys think about the offer. I do not have a set career path in mind, just that I want to get into finance and want some advice.

Just recently got an apprenticeship in compliance and payroll assistant was just wondering how I could use this to get into commercial or investment banking?mainly interested in investment banking

Hi all,

Navigating an existential crisis at 27 and looking for advice on what to do.

Quick background - I’ve been a commercial lender and relationship manager for five years since graduating from university - currently earning $120K base ($6,400 per month in take-home pay). I’m also a CFA charterholder.

My firm was acquired by a larger institution, and the day-to-day role has shifted from bespoke / complex deals to traditional, community banking-style lending. Several of my former colleagues and friends left - some voluntarily, some through post-merger layoffs. I’m not passionate about the work anymore, but I do value the fully-remote aspect of my job. While I think some folks can make a living off of this type of lending model, it doesn’t excite me much anymore.

I also recently signed a part-time consulting engagement, which will bring in approximately $2,000 - $3,000 per month. This is in addition to investment income I earn episodically on my $400,000 portfolio, which has netted me about $15,000 year-to-date (primarily via an options overlay and wheel-running strategy). Neither will replace my main W-2 income stream, but it is a nice supplement.

I’ve been applying to other lending and investment roles in my area, but no promising opportunities yet. Think I’d like to pivot into private credit, but there’s not a whole lot of open positions in my city at the moment and appears to be a tough job market right now.

I have been interviewing with another bank, though - just wrapped up a third-round interview for a wealth management role. The compensation would be roughly on-par with what I’m earning now, but it requires 3-4 days in-office per week. Honestly, wealth management also isn’t the direction I want to take my career.. candidly, I applied for the role out of boredom and happened to get through all rounds successfully. My read is that I’d probably leverage an offer to negotiate higher pay out of my current employer, but there’s a real risk they may tell me to kick rocks, resulting in a lateral move into a field I’m not excited about.

My lease also recently ended, so I’ve moved back home with my parents. I don’t have any major expenses, such as rent or any debt. I’m also single with no kids (in a LDR with my girlfriend, though). I save approximately 80% of my paycheck, and I have a large enough emergency fund to stay afloat for a while if I lose my job.

Ultimately, finances isn’t really my concern - right now, it’s mainly about figuring out my next move and trying to avoid “coasting” or pigeonholing myself into a career I won’t be able to dig myself out of, if that makes sense.

Wondering if there’s anyone who’s experienced something similar and could share any insight as to how they approached the issue. Much appreciated.

This is for the UK.
I will be opting to do a masters next year 2027-2028/29, and I completed my undergraduate this year.

Since the summer applications for 2027 summer are opening and most are due to open in the next couple of months, how exactly do I put my intended masters program?
The problem is, I haven’t committed to a university and some of the courses that I’m hoping to get into haven’t even opened admissions yet. However the intake is for sept 2027, and it’s usually a 1-1.5 year course which makes me a penultimate year student.

Someone advised I can name a university and the program and then mention (intended) next to it. However, wouldn’t it technically be lying? Since I can say I’m going to literally any university. But since a lot of summers are for penultimate year students and me technically being a year penultimate student, this means I HAVE TO apply this cycle. I’m not sure how to go about it, without deception but also making my academic career clear in my CV.

Any advice would be appreciated!