Question about entering at VP or above with Advanced Degrees

<p>I was just wondering how normal of a practice this is (before you read this is problem a question to be answered by people who have worked in finance--sorry aspiring college students). </p>

<p>A friend of mine will be completing their D.Phil in England at a top program which they began immediately after they finished their undergrad (Ivy League school). Upon completion, they've already gained acceptance into a top 3 JD program (YHS), and they're hoping to apply for admission into the joint JD/MBA program. </p>

<p>They're hoping to eventually end up doing economic policy work on either the public side or for a think tank, but they've expressed the desire to enter the private sector for some period of time between the two. They claim it's for professional experience--in all honesty I think they're just trying to pay off their school loans before they move to the public sector/non-profit side, which I can't blame them for. </p>

<p>They asked me how common it was, and I honestly wasn't too sure. In my limited time working I've never met an MD that wasn't promoted from VP or came over as a VP/MD from another bank, but I'm not too sure about VPs. </p>

<p>Would a Ph.D/D.Phil or JD graduate have the opportunity to apply for a VP spot (w/o any additional degrees)? What about after he acquires both the JD and D.Phil? Also, would anyone care to comment on whether or not they feel the MBA would help at all in this case?</p>

<p>To the best of my knowledge, the person in question has worked every summer since freshman year, at a mixture of economic think tanks and BB investment banks (I think two summer analyst positions during UG and one summer associate position in England). They're looking to do enter either Research or IBD. </p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Likely enter as an associate.</p>

<p>Associate. No other degree will help. Only a friend of the founder our someone with a massive book or big $$$ can get offered higher. You gotta bring some juice. Even at a boutique or small consulting firm (or a small RIA like mine). It has to do with equity, and he ain’t got none.</p>

<p>He could get fast tracked but he has a lot to prove. A lot.</p>

<p>Yeah you can’t enter as a VP without the background/experience working in the industry</p>

<p>Associate.</p>

<p>he would be considered ZERO experience, thefore the entering position would be Associate</p>

<p>I gotta ask, why so many degrees? Seems like a bit of overkill.</p>

<p>Alright well I had asked around at work and gotten pretty much the same answer-- was just curious to see if there was a different culture at other firms.</p>

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<p>My friend originally had wanted to do a Ph.D/JD and enter public policy and then go into public office. Got the opportunity to do a D.Phil in Britain thanks to a fellowship so went over to do that instead and is now coming back for the JD. </p>

<p>Decided they wanted to work in the private sector before his future career on the public side for whatever reason, so is now interested in a stint in finance. After the finance issue came up thought about doing a joint JD/MBA since it’s only one more year than the JD and adds a lot of networking on that side. I keep telling them that they probably won’t get into the MBA program since it’s a top program and they’ll only have 7 summers of experience behind him, but they’re very intelligent and accomplished so who knows. </p>

<p>I must ask (since this reflects my own situation a bit closer): If they had originally worked for a few years b/w finishing undergrad and getting the JD/MBA (either as an analyst or associate or some combination of the two, but not for more than a total of 2-3 years), what would their chances of entering as a VP be after say a JD/MBA?</p>

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<p>Same as after working for a few years and then getting a MBA, associate. It’s likely that you would have to work at least one or two year to prove your worth before getting promoted to VP even if you have JD/MBA from Harvard or Stanford.</p>