Intended Major: Agriculture/Animal Science Intended job: Veterinarian/Equine surgeon
Actual Major: Agriculture/Veterinary Medicine (BS) DVM in work (4th year) Intended job: Board Certified Veterinary Radiologist
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1st daughter: Intended undergraduate major: Architectural Studies and completed it. Graduate school intended and entered Masters in Architecture (MArch) program…partway through, wanted to specialize and not become the designer but go into sustainability in architecture and switched graduate schools/programs and earned MS in Architecture in Building Sciences and Sustainability. Works as director of the Sustainability team in a major architectural firm.
2nd daughter: has known what she wanted to do since preschool, I kid you not…musical theater. Entered BFA in Musical Theater program, earned degree. Ever since graduating, has worked as a musical theater performer, singer/songwriter (non-musical theater genre), and writes/composes original musicals. Was not trained in the latter aspect (just in MT performance), but works in and has had success in all these facets of her career. She often performs in the musicals she creates and records albums and performs concerts of her original songs.
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DD21; Majors in Business Enterprise Management & English, went to work at an advertising agency as a media planner. She plans to pursue a full time MBA next year and pivot to corporate strategy after graduation. She was a covid graduate in 2021 and wasn’t able to land the ideal job, hence the desire for another degree.
DS24: Major in finance, interned at an investment bank in NYC last summer and has signed contract to return as an analyst after graduation in May.
We have a family business that either of them could have joined, but they both wanted to make their own way.
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D intended to be a dentist (when she was in high school). She got very interested in healthcare delivery systems when she was in college, and she ended up majoring in Medicine, Health and Society. She has worked in healthcare consulting since graduation, and she is very happy with her choice.
S intended to be a pharmacist, and he even attended summer pharmacy programs in high school. Once enrolled in a six year pharmacy program, he quickly realized it wasn’t for him. He ended up sort of drifting, majoring in biology because he liked those courses best. He worked as a chemical analyst after college, but he didn’t see a career path for himself. He worked with gas chromatography and electron microscopes. He started doing maintenance and repair on the instruments he used in his job, and he really enjoyed doing that. Now he is a field service engineer for a company that sells scientific instruments - he does installation, maintenance & repair. It took awhile to get there, but he has a path forward in a career he enjoys.
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Great for them. It’s great your DD21 was able to land great work - and now pivot through more schooling. I’m personally a fan of the full-time MBA route.
For DS24, could you name the school given the career field he is headed?
Thanks
D Chem major. Worked at well known research institute in Boston for 2 years. Now a PhD candidate in a major flagship in the area of Bioorthogonal chemistry. Intention is to work in Biotech industry vs academia.
S Econ Major. Works for a bulge bracket in sales and trading in NYC. Will stay in area for now. Looks like firm not asking him to go to BSchool to advance career.
Both off my payroll post college!
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Sure. Both went to Wake Forest.
Fantastic -
I know others tell me I’m wrong but WFU - as great a school as it is - is not on any feeder lists for IB.
So when I bring up kids come from many schools - including one (Fordham) many here recommend that is also not on any IB feeder lists - it goes to show - all kids, no matter where they are, with hustle and grit, can get to where they want. I see kids from schools like UGA and Va Tech in these positions as well and know one of my daughter’s friends at her no name school interned this summer at a top firm.
it may be harder but not impossible.
Kudos to your two kids…great info.
Thanks
Thanks so much.
I think the feeder lists are inaccurate or maybe just out of date. Wake may be a semi-target for IB now.
My son told me there were 12-15 kids from his class headed to NYC for IB next year, and others headed to Charlotte. Many go into S&T, wealth management, or consulting as well. Several banks recruit on campus, and WFU alumni are extremely helpful in pulling students into internships.
He worked very hard for his internship, starting making cold calls to banks in October of his sophomore year. He was given good advice from his professors, alumni, and other students on what he needed to do to get a job.
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I think it’s mostly this.
I think there are a lot of schools that place multiple kids - but many on here tell me I’m wrong - including those in the field - and yes, they would know more than me.
But you can find kids from many many many schools in IB on linkedin.
And you are right - it’s not just NYC anymore.
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It does seem like interest in MBAs is diminishing unless you want to make a career change.
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Yes, that is true. If one enters IB as an undergraduate there’s not much upside to getting an MBA. The MBA route is taken after 3-5 years of relevant experience and one enters as an associate instead of an analyst. The analysts typically leave for a megafund or private equity after two years.
There are two main tracks to IB, undergraduate and MBA. Most of the non-target students enter through the MBA route.
This was a great thread on the subject moderated by @Catcherinthetoast : Want a Career in Banking? Ask a Senior Banking Exec
Agree. D’s BF went to BSchool to go from being a lab scientist to the business side of bio-medical.
In my day, it was rare to go directly from analyst to associate without an MBA. These days not so much. I think part of it is that PE, venture cap, hedge funds, etc… are willing to hire non MBA’s in career tracks forcing traditional banks and IB’s to adapt. That and the opportunity cost for many already in high paying financial jobs is driving down demand.
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I wonder what Simon is doing to garner such a huge increase…
I wonder if this is just full time or all.
I’m willing to bet that they increased funding opportunities. The more the word gets out that a school will provide funding, the more applications they will receive.
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I wonder if an MBA might be helpful (though not necessary – I know people who certainly make the switch directly from IB to PE but probably at a lower rank) to switch from an IB to a PE firm but less helpful if one wants to keep rising at an IB.
D1- Mechanical engineering degree- now a stay at home mom doing homeschooling
D2- International relations- works for a think tank that does international relation events
Both very happy
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I was discussing this with a PE firm over dinner last month. They said it’s virtually unknown to do an MBA for junior people in their European offices nowadays (attributing this to many new employees in continental Europe being older because undergraduate degrees take longer) and increasingly rare in the US. They generally hire from IBs and occasionally from MBB consulting.
Almost all the senior people (age 40+) did an MBA back in the day. One reason cited for the change was you now need more work experience before you can get into a top MBA program, so you are earning more and it’s harder to give up the higher salary (and you may be able to get a job in PE after 2 years, before most people could even get admitted to HBS or similar).
#2 is my daughter, interning in DC now - glad it’s been a rewarding career. My daughter loves those she gets to meet and listen to - as she also likes her job at the think tank.
It’s great these opportunities exist !!
I went to a school that was closely connected to General Motors. Many of my peers attended top MBA programs on GM fellowships - tuition was fully paid and they received hefty stipends. While GM is still reimbursing tuition for employees (part time coursework), I am pretty sure that the fellowships are a relic of the past. I’m not sure how many companies have that sort of fellowship these days. The opportunity cost of stopping out from a job that pays well is pretty high, and I think a lot of people don’t see the value.
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