An investment banking analyst position at a bulge bracket (BB) or middle market (BB) bank after undergraduate school is extremely competitive and hard to get. There are less than 1,000 positions annually at the BB banks, and a similar number at the MM level. I think I read that Goldman had 230,000 applications for about 250 positions a couple of years ago. Almost all those jobs are filled with students from Ivies, Ivy plus, and a small number of other “target” and “semi-target” schools. The Ivy students don’t usually have business degrees. Your daughter’s chance of getting an IB internship that leads to a job offer trails off considerably if she isn’t at one of those schools
NYC is still the epicenter of IB, and most of the top kids end up there. Students must start networking at the beginning of their sophomore year, making daily cold calls to alumni at different firms and then broadening out to referrals from those calls. It’s a grind and a lot to handle, especially with a finance major’s academic workload.
Internships are awarded during the summer of students’ sophomore year for the following summer, and most get return offers depending on the IB market. Return offers were lower than normal this summer.
Wealth management, sales and trading, capital markets, back-office, etc. positions are other options for finance majors and more likely destinations if at a non-target school. It really does make a difference where one goes to school for IB jobs.
DS is a senior finance major and an incoming IB analyst next summer at a NYC BB bank. His school environment (B-School, fraternity, business organizations, alumni) has been very helpful in his journey. Feel free to PM me with any questions.
This is a great discussion on CC about the entire process: Want a Career in Banking? Ask a Senior Banking Exec - #6 by Catcherinthetoast
Wall Street Oasis is another reliable source of information, but it might be a bit much for a high school student.