West coast and other questions!

Career Opportunities & Internships Investment Banking
1

<p>I know it's a bit early but I wanna ask and look ahead. Okay, so I'm applying to schools all over, but I have quite a few reaches and I would rather go to the west coast than the east coast (unless its like HYP).</p>

<p>I'm looking at Stanford, UCB, UCLA, USC. I'm not too sure about Stanford (it's a reach obviously) but I think I have a good shot at the other 3, and I have read that they're decent target schools for the west coast IB.</p>

<p>Coming from these schools, is it good enough to get into Ibanking as an undergrad?</p>

<p>Is the Ibanking in the west coast almost as big as it is in the east coast and Chicago?
Is the pay similar?</p>

<p>After being an analyst for a few years, and then possibly getting an MBA (I'm not too sure about all this, but assuming the school is good or similar to UCB, USC, etc) would I still be able to land in PE or HF? </p>

<p>I think I want to end up in PE or HF after IB because they seem to really interest me, and the pay is obviously well.</p>

<p>Are there still a lot of PE and HF firms on the west coach, or are they more on the east coast?
Could I still get into firms on the east coast after doing IB in the west coast?
Is the pay similar (west coast vs east coast)?</p>

<p>I'm asking all of this because I want to end up somewhere in Finance, and I would also like to paid well (not extremely wealthy, just well-off) without working 100 hours per week at IB (50-60 is great and occasionally more would be fine). </p>

<p>Thanks for any responses, and I get these questions might seem repetitive and a bit too early, but I just want to know more about this stuff.</p>

<p>Thanks again. :)</p>

2

<p>All 4 are great schools obviously but Stanford and Berkeley would be the two best choices. As for getting into ibanking, I can’t predict your future. Maintain a high GPA, get a couple relevant internships and hit junior SA recruiting hard. Ibanking is very good in SF and good in LA but NY is the top dog. There is no reason why you can’t land an interview for a NY office if you network. Pay may be slightly lower but also depends on the firm. </p>

<p>As for going into HF/PE. Everyone wants to do that(well most). West coast is great for VC, especially in the silicon valley area. </p>

<p>Also regarding the work hours. You’re going to work 90+ for a while(expect all nighters) until you lateral or go to bschool. 50-60 will come once you lateral to HF/PE or wherever.</p>

3

<p>Great thanks for the response.
Yeah I know GPA is really important and I’m going to work hard and I’m sure I’ll get a good GPA and I’ll try to network and get interships and all of that; I just wanted to know more about how going to certain colleges would help/hurt me.</p>

<p>I’ve read a lot about the dreadful hours, but I think I’ll be alright for a few years before going to b school or going somewhere else. 50-60 sounds good haha.</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply</p>

4

<p>HF and PE are very different fields.
Most HFs are involved with the stock market so they follow market hours and it is very hard to be 3 time zones away in the west coast. My son works in a hedge fund in NYC and he is at his office by 7AM even though the market doesn’t open till 9:30AM. Lots of prep work (news,strategies,meetings) to do before actual trading starts.</p>

5

<p>Um, what’s HF, PE and VC. Sorry I am new to this.</p>

6

<p>HF = Hedge Fund, VC = Venture Capitalist and PE = Private Equity</p>

7

<p>Thanks a lot!</p>