London -> NY IB from a UK University

<p>I'm doing BSc Economics from the University of Warwick...am in my first year and did two spring internships - one at JP Morgan and another at Barclays Capital. Warwick is ranked no. 3 for Economics just below Oxford and Cambridge and above LSE and UCL this year, and ranked no. 2 for undergraduate Business/Management just after Oxford, and is a top 5 target college for IB here in England according to HR at several IBanks. Considering Warwick's strong rep here in London (consistently top 5 for economics, and a top 10 university overall), yet low level of international fame, what would be the chance of getting a placement in NY after graduation? I am interested in either commodity trading or commodity research.</p>

<p>bump...</p>

<p>any ideas??</p>

<p>very low, probably impossible. IBanks usually hire locally, and especially since your school doesn't have recognition in the states, your chances are minimal. Why go to NYC though London is a great city, cleaner, better nightlife, and the pound is strong.</p>

<p>by Spring internships do you mean the thing they have over there in the UK where students go listen to bank representatives/get a tour for 1-2 weeks...
That ain't no internship.</p>

<p>Also, HR reps don't keep track of yearly fluctuations in rankings. LSE beats out Warwick and will throughout the forseeable future.</p>

<p>I think you should just hope to get a good offer from a london division of a bank. If you do it would be a great accomplishment, it isn't too difficult to make the transfer to New York after a few years (are you a US citizen?) I've seen the colleges of last years Morgan Stanley IBD analysts for New York and I think there was only one from the UK (Imperial).</p>

<p>its called a spring internship over here, hence i called it so. Obv i know the difference between a proper 10-12 week summer one and a spring one - people on the other side of the atlantic are not retarded...</p>

<p>Well im not an american citizen but work visa shouldnt be an issue considering im Norwegian (EEA). </p>

<p>I'm not talking about transferring after a few years - by then one shouldnt be just an analyst...hopefully becoming an associate. I'm talkin about getting a job straight off the bat in NY. Here, a Warwick economics undergrad is definitely on par with their LSE counterpart in terms of recruitment...so has anyone heard of a brit student taking a job straight after graduation in an FO IB?</p>

<p>^Yeah I know you weren't asking about moving after a few years. I was being tactfull and generous but essentially I think there's no chance in hell you're going to get their attention from across the ocean when they have the entire ivy league to go through.</p>

<p>Curious though, why do you want to be based in New York so badly? Do you just like the US more than UK culture...?</p>

<p>Unless you are American, making the jump across the ocean is really hard. Had you been an American studying in the UK, it would have been doable.</p>

<p>It is similar in the states - unless you are already European, it is really hard to get a job on the other side of the Atlantic. My American friends at Penn have had barely any luck, while my European friends here have gotten great internships and jobs in the UK.</p>

<p>I'm not desperate to get to NY. I'd just like to get some info...I in fact love the UK culture, but would like to try out something different too. Maybe a bit more fast paced, even though the salaries nd bonuses are the same (and in several cases a lot better in england), just for the experience. Working at a headquarters of an american firm will always be appealing..</p>

<p>and yea, tbh I dont need much tact in response on this thread thank you Id need more honest feedback which is backed up with some sort of info or experience.</p>

<hr>

<p>Thanks for the info snipanlol...is the trend you talked about due to a person's citizenship, and if so, why the discrimination?</p>

<p>lol, ok I'll lay off the tact.</p>

<p>I asked if you're a citizen because the US has tightened visas and permits after 9/11. Public companies have to adhere to quotas before recruiting foreign people for work in the US. Essentially Investment Banks and the like wouldn NOT want to bother to do that when so many people in top universitys here want jobs with them. (Engineers would be more scarce and would have a better chances)</p>

<p>UK is definitely a friendly country in terms of these things. But there was in fact an article in the New York times the other day that reported on American official's thoughts on possibly cancelling the visa waiver program that allows all Britons entry to the United States without a visa. The Brit gov wants Americans to simply screen their citizens and send back those who fail, but several washington officials feel strongly for the proposed plan.</p>

<p>Being from Britain is still not too bad. But the hoops you would have to jump through pluss the distance plus the fact that you're an undergrad econ major plus the relative unfamiliarity of warwick in the states would make it impossible.</p>

<p>I find it funny that a St Andrews degree would probably be more useful in this case, even though Warwick econ is far superior.</p>

<p>St. Andrews? Well wouldnt recruiters know which unis are good for econ and which arent? i'd expect them to be a bit more enlightened than the general public in the states...</p>

<p>Recruiters for NY office probably don't spend time memorizing UK econ rankings.</p>

<p>well i dont think they should be so ignorant so as not to know which unis are good for the subject they recruit the most from. anyway, one would expect HR recruiters to be a bit more worldly than the general american public. Or am I expecting too much?</p>

<p>I doubt UK recruiters would know USNews rankings either. Warwick might have a good name in UK but 95% of Americans have never heard of it. It has little name recognition. Oxford, Cambridge, LSE would be much better for impressing Americans.</p>

<p>I would agree that it would be sooo extremely hard to break into BB IBD in the US from your school. There was a post on ibankingoasis.com that i can't find at the moment that showed the schools represented (and the number of students they sent) to a BB entering analyst class. There were no people from foreign countires and the vast majority came from HYP and other target schools. </p>

<p>However, since contacts are very helpful in landing an interview, if you could find multiple alumni contacts from your school that work in an IBD firm in the US, you could develop relationships with them and they may be able to help you get your foot in the door.</p>

<p>Would I be off in saying you'd have a better chance with work experience in the UK? I mean, go ahead and use all available resources when you are graduating to try to pull off an IB job stateside after graduating, but if you can't and still want to try living in the US at some point, maybe get some experience in the UK and then apply for an MBA program over here. Then you'd probably have no problems finding a job on WS. Or, I'm not sure if you can even just "send in an application" to the NYC IBanks, but with IBanking experience in London (or whereever) it would make sense that you'd have an easier time landing a job in NYC.</p>

<p>I think your best bet is through contacts. If you don't have any contacts, make contacts. London is full of Americans working in the financial sector. And even if you don't end up working for a BB in New York, if you can somehow scare up a job that gets you living legally in NYC then you will be much closer to your goal. </p>

<p>If you are living up in Leamington or Coventry or whatever I suppose London is a bit of a mission... just be sure to take advantage of whatever time you have in London to go out and meet Americans. Even those not working in the industry will probably have a personal contact in the US financial sector that they will be willing to share with you if they like you. </p>

<p>IMO the online applications for these competitive NY jobs are useless for a foreigner such as yourself. You need somebody on the inside to be on the lookout for your CV and cover letter, somebody you know is going to make sure it gets read and that what you're offering receives proper consideration.</p>

<p>To be fair, American recruiters are quite ignorant about foreign university systems, but so are British ones. Anything outside of Harvard Yale and Princeton would be considered lower than the UK top 5. A degree from Williams, Amherst, Dartmouth, or another excellent but not top-of-the-top uni gets very little respect in the UK so it goes both ways. Furthermore, in the US economics is considered the subject for people who weren't good enough for undergraduate business school. In the UK and most of Europe, business is considered the subject for people who weren't smart enough to study straight econ. So being an econ major, while an advantage in the UK and Europe, certainly does not help you in the American job market. </p>

<p>Anyway, it's not right but that's the way it is. Recuiters suck equally in Europe and the US. Ultimately, your best (and probably only) shot is through networking. Talk to people, be genuine, and if they like you they will want to help you out.</p>

<p>Best of luck. And for the record, I don't think this whole endeavour is worth your time and effort. A Warwick degree gives you an advantage over half the ivy league for London recruitment, but gives you blank stares for NY recruitment. Once you've got experience and loads of contacts in the industry I think you will find it a lot easier to make the move, if you still think it's worthwhile.</p>