At what point should you give up?
Hi.
I'm in the UK so would appreciate UK-specific advice. Over here networking is no where near as big as it is in the US and if you didn't go to the right universities and get IB internships you don't stand a chance.
I did terribly in my A-Levels and ended up at a complete non-target university, so unsurprisingly I was constantly rejected for internships and was rejected from countless graduate roles. I graduated with a first class degree in economics, although this doesn't mean much since it was from a really low ranking university. I did manage to get on an accounting/tax graduate scheme and I'm currently in my first year of the graduate scheme where I've been completing the ACA as part of my role. The pay is pretty decent (especially for someone like me from a non-target university) but it's not what I wanted to do. It was the only offer I had and beggars can't be choosers.
My office is actually near some Investment Banks and I have to walk past them to get to work and it just makes me feel like a massive failure lol. Every single time I walk to work it's a constant reminder that I should have worked harder.
I've got a Master's offer for a degree at a prestigious university that has a high placement in consulting and finance, but I'm worried my A-Levels will still hold me back. I'm aware that a decent Master's programme will not completely overshadow poor A-Level results and a non-target undergraduate university. I also want to do an MBA in 5/6 years and doing this Master's degree will definitely look better on my future MBA applications over my terrible non-target undergraduate university, as long as my GMAT and other aspects of my application are good.
The problem is I would still be applying for entry level/graduate roles during the Master's and my A-Levels might still ruin my chances.
Giving up is never a good thing but sometimes you have to be realistic. I've wasted so much time learning technicals and IB-specific knowledge during my time at uni which has been completely pointless since I was always auto-rejected due to being from a non-target. Even if take the elite Master's uni offer I will still probably get auto-rejected from internships and graduate roles due to my A-Levels.
Unfortunately there is very little margin for error when it comes to getting into these types of careers since there are so many 'perfect' applicants with amazing A-Levels, Oxford/Cambridge/LSE undergrads and elite internships. I feel my chance at IB already ended years ago when I was 18 and did badly in my A-Levels.
I've got a quite a decent paid job especially for someone from a non-target and I'll get a significant pay rise if I qualify and complete the ACA. Part of me feels like I should just 'settle' and not throw away a nice thing for a complete pipe dream. It just sucks so much that no matter what I do I will always be held back for mistakes I made half a decade ago. I guess you only really have one chance in life.
To those of you who eventually gave up on IB or any other elite career field for that matter, what was the point at which you accepted failure? What made you realise it just wasn't going to happen? How to get over the feeling of being 'less than' and accepting something 'lower'?
I'm only 21 and everyone tells me that this is supposed to be the start of my career, but the career I want seems permanently out of reach and the opportunity to get into it disappeared ever since I got poor A-Level results.
Navigating career aspirations, especially in highly competitive fields like Investment Banking (IB), can indeed be challenging, particularly when faced with setbacks or non-traditional paths. Your situation, while unique, shares commonalities with many who have faced similar hurdles. Here are some insights and advice based on the collective wisdom from the Wall Street Oasis community:
Reassess and Set Realistic Goals: It's crucial to reassess your career goals based on your current situation. While IB might seem like the ultimate goal, the finance industry offers a plethora of rewarding careers. Consider roles in corporate finance, asset management, or even consulting as viable and fulfilling alternatives.
Leverage Your Master's Program: Attending a prestigious university for your Master's can be a game-changer. It's an opportunity to reset the narrative of your academic and professional journey. Focus on excelling in your program, networking effectively, and seeking internships or projects related to your desired field. Your past A-Level results may be less of a focus for employers when they see your recent achievements and proactive efforts in a reputable Master's program.
Networking and Mentorship: While networking might not be as emphasized in the UK as in the US, it's still a powerful tool. Seek out alumni from your Master's program who have transitioned into finance or consulting. Their guidance can be invaluable, and they might offer insights or even referrals that can help bypass traditional recruitment barriers.
Consider Alternative Routes: Many have found their way into IB through less traditional paths. This could include starting in a related field or a smaller firm and then transitioning into IB later in your career. Skills and experience gained elsewhere can be incredibly valuable and may set you apart from traditional candidates.
Personal Development and Resilience: Building a career is a marathon, not a sprint. Focus on personal development, including technical skills relevant to your desired field, soft skills like communication and leadership, and even your well-being. Resilience is key; every setback is an opportunity to learn and grow.
Acceptance and Gratitude: While it's natural to aspire for more, finding contentment in your current achievements can be liberating. You've secured a decent job and are on your way to completing the ACA, which is no small feat. Sometimes, the path we end up on can be just as rewarding as the one we initially envisioned.
Remember, careers are increasingly non-linear. Many successful professionals in finance and beyond didn't start in their eventual field or faced significant setbacks along the way. Your determination, adaptability, and willingness to explore alternative paths can still lead you to a fulfilling and successful career.
Sources: How important is it one come from a rich family and be younger with regard to being hired as an Investment Banker?, Investment Bankers - Career Mistakes, Giving up on your dreams, Tips to stop chasing prestige (and be grateful)?, I feel like a Failure
I'm not in the UK, but from what I've gathered from WSO, you just need to build up your finance work experience in FP&A, asset management, private banking, or the like, ideally at a brand name firm. Then you can apply to IB jobs again after you get an MBA in a few years.
Firstly, you are in the situation that you find yourself in whether you like it or not. You’re moping a bit and I think you’d be better off with an attitude check: accepting the reality and looking forwards, not cursing yourself and the universe for not being where you want to be.
Secondly, you are in a better position than 99% of the country if you’re in an ACA grad role. You are on a path to earn 100k+ in a few years. That’s not a reason to be unhappy.
If you really want to go into IB, your best bet is finishing the ACA and making a lateral move to your firm’s M&A team. Failing that, move to the CDD/FDD team. It will be easier to do this internally than looking at other firms. Once you get some experience in these roles, there are plenty of boutique banks that take on ACA grads with transactions experience.
Do not bother with an MBA; it is not useful in the UK like it is in the US, and this site provides highly US-focussed advice.
Keep in mind this path will take another 3-4 years for you. That’s the reality.
I don't want to go into too much detail since the post would be too long, but I do intend on doing an MBA in the US. I'm aware that MBAs have pretty much no value in the UK.
I'm aware that I'm in a decent position atm - despite coming from a complete non target, I make over 40k per year on the ACA grad scheme and I do get some deals exposure.
It's just that my friends from Cambridge all got elite jobs earning 70k+ and I was also expected to get into Cambridge, but I flopped my A-Levels. I'm constantly trying to catch up with the perfect version of myself that never made mistakes.
I'm not going to explain my goals in depth because it will take too long, but to keep things short:
- I'm targeting consulting and corporate finance roles and I feel doing the Imperial Master's will help me obtain these roles.
-The Imperial Master's will look a lot better on my CV when applying for US MBAs in 6/7 years.
-The boutique banks that hire ACAs only take the ones with Big 4 transactions experience. I work for an advisory firm, I don't work for a Big 4. Doing the Imperial Master's will also help me get a Big 4 corporate finance role.
I have 2 options at this point and would appreciate your advice:
-Leave the grad scheme and take the Imperial offer and hope to get into consulting/corporate finance firms.
Or
-Finish the ACA grad scheme and do a Master's in Finance at LSE to get into elite finance roles, since a non Big-4 ACA on its own will not be enough.
You are not your friends at Cambridge and you never will be. You’re comparing yourself to them and you need to cut that shit out now. Comparison is the thief of joy. There will always be someone more successful than you.
Unless you’ve got a rock solid plan in place for what you’re going to do with a US MBA, I don’t recommend it for you. It is a nightmare getting a visa for overseas applicants even with a US MBA. You probably aren’t getting an M7 invite and you’ll have to work very hard to get a T15 - I wouldn’t bother if you don’t land this.
My advice would be lateral, ASAP, to a Big 4 firm. Get your story straight on why. It should be an easy sell - the biggest thing Big 4 look for in grads is an attrition-proof hire who can do what is asked of them. If you’re already 6 exams down in the ACA and with relevant work experience, they’ll snap you up, because you’ve proved you can work in the industry and you’re not one of the 30% of people that drop out of the ACA at the first hurdle.
A masters at a top uni will open more doors for you, but it’s a gamble. Opportunity cost of a year more experience, salary, and ACA if you drop out of it, plus cost of course, versus a shot at recruiting into banks. I personally wouldn’t risk it as you have a strong foundation to build from here, but it’s up to you. As of right now I definitely would not have the mindset of doing a masters and then an MBA on top - you might change your mind in 5 years if it makes sense later on, but you don’t want to be the perpetual student. Years of experience matters more IMO.
Only read thread title. Got two choices
Give up... you know what the outcome will be. "I tried, wasn't good enough. Wasn't X enough." Excuses excuses excuses, makes me fucking sick.
Don't give up....you're limitless, powerful, can make it happen... WILL make it happen.
TLDR - Weak people give up. Are you weak? Then definitely give up. At 21 I believed in myself, and I think you should too.
Giving a UK perspective here as someone in IB and definitely don’t have the same A-Levels as my peers, although a slightly different situation as IBs recruited at my uni despite not being a target/semi-target.
First of all, you need to cut out your current attitude/mindset of constant comparing yourself to those whose situations aren’t even close to yours. Unless you’re going to use it to motivate and drive you, it isn’t doing you a single favour but possibly making you bitter or leading you to make less optimal decisions.
I don’t think you understand how good it is to have the ACA qualification (at first time passes) when it comes to breaking into other careers, including IB. Have seen plenty of people in the business, and in exits like PE, coming from Big4 and ACA qualified. Also seen lateral opportunities for candidates that are ACA qualified for IB opps, as well as those who joined IB graduate programmes after completing the ACA (e.g., Rothschild).
If I were you:
1) Delay your masters by a year so you still have offer in hand as a back up.
2) Do everything you need to do have the ACA and/or lateral to Big4 as well.
3) Grow your IB network well (I mean, know your motivations for IB, have a story re: your A-Levels and uni choice and current career - most importantly in a way that doesn’t come across as negative or bitter). This will be useful when an opportunity opens up and having someone internal refer you - I found this heightens your chances of interviews hugely.
4) Build relationships with external HHs/recruiters who will have an idea on how and when to recruit for opps when the market is better.
5) Consider adjacent roles that can help you recruit into IB later after a year (e.g., equity research, in-house M&A at a corporate, etc.).
Trust me, no one really cares about A-Levels at this level. Yes, I know it also determined what uni you went to, but just have a good story prepared that can have a positive spin. You’d be surprised at how receptive people are when you’re in front of them.
In my experience, I had an interview recently where the partner asked what my A-Level grades were and why they were lower than my peers. I just explained I came from a non-traditional background (council estate / state school, etc), struck lucky in clearing, did xyz during uni to position myself best to get into IB and how it hasn’t held me back on the job. I also added that I don’t think clients care about A-level grades but if we can do the job and do it well, and this is a client services oriented business at the end of the day. They responded that they can tell I am resilient and willing to get my hands dirty. I got the offer in the end.
I plan to do an MBA in the US in the future and having a Master's from Imperial will look a lot better than my undergraduate uni.
Also I still don't buy the utility of the ACA when it comes to getting into IB. It used to happen in the past but now it's nowhere near as common. So many people complete the ACA and get stuck in mediocre roles and still can't get into IB. Even those that do tend to move into divisions like product control.
I genuinely feel I've already lost my opportunity to get into IB since I didn't manage to get in after university.
My only chance at IB in London would be to do a Master's in Finance at LSE and then do an off-cycle internship and hopefully convert that to an offer.
If I stick with the ACA I still won't be able to transfer to IB since that's no longer a common route.
Okay but have you actually tried applying to lateral roles directly and/or via recruiters? Or are you cancelling yourself out of these processes before even trying because it’s “not as common” anymore? Do you know that those stuck in the “mediocre” roles really tried to get into IB or fell short elsewhere? Have you spoken to other ACA holders that are in IB now and asked how they did it? There’s many.
What I’m trying to say is you should at least give the recruiting part a decent go, without comparing yourself to others, before spending tens of thousands on a masters from Imperial and even more by doing an MBA in the US since neither guarantee you a job in IB. At least then, you’d know what’s truly holding you back, whether that be A-Levels, uni, your current firm, lack of experience, etc.
Don't compare yourself to others, there is no utility in that. Chase your dreams, work hard for it and enjoy the ride. It will not be easy, but keep on winning at everything you do, embrace your past and change it into your strength and people will reward you for it.
Very practically, I think you have 2 routes:
1. Take the masters and work hard to get yourself into a dealmaking job - big 4 M&A and can make the step into full IB from there. (Pro's: quicker, cons: expensive - master is like 25k and uncertain)
2. Stay into accounting, keep winning, shift to either big 4 accounting first or potentially FDD and take the jump to a deal making position from there (pro's: you actually make money, cons: probably takes a 2/3 years at least to get there)
There is no 'winning' in accounting.
It's an inferior profession that is filled with people like me that never wanted to do it in the first place but weren't good enough to get into the elite careers we wanted.
I'm just so frustrated thinking back at the past and how this whole situation could've been avoided if I had just worked harder and got into a prestigious university.
There is 'winning' in everything mate, hard work is recognized and will bring you more. I understand your frustration, but it does not bring you anything.
Embrace the past and keep on going, you'll get there. The grass is always greener on the other side, but try to focus on yourself and what you can control.
Hope you make it and get over the frustration. There is much more joy in the grind than being the grumpy guy that only says 'if I had done that then I would have made it'.
I appreciate your comment but it's easy for you to say since you're literally working in PE. You are already doing something more impressive than anything I will ever do in my entire life.
The grind is only fun if it pays off. If it doesn't you just feel like complete, utter shit.
I've been trying to move on from the past because I can't change it. I can't go back in time and do the right thing so I've been trying to move on, but I constantly think of where I could've been if I had done things right. My parents tell me I have a great job and I should be happy but I can't help but wonder where I would've been if I did better in my A-Levels and went to Cambridge. I just know I would be a lot better off than I am now and it kills me inside.
I started reading the thread with some sympathy but that dropped very quickly because you've shown yourself to be incredibly unlikable.
This annoyed me. Nobody cares about your family background, and if you really cared so much about "prestige" then you wouldn't have wasted your parents money in fucking around in your A-Levels and not even resitting them but making them pay for a crap university. For what? The "university experience"?
Check your ego, then. You weren't good enough to get into a good university, your skills got you to that "shithole" university. Stop degrading everyone else there because the truth is you're not better than them, because you got there on the merit of your skills. Like what the hell is this?
This pissed me off the most. I could excuse your lofty comments on your background and you thinking you deserve better, because sometimes people from good families fall on hard times (although you put yourself in a bad position all by yourself). But this comment is just crazy. Who are you to go and shit on other people's careers? Saying it's an "inferior profession"? You're not even where we are (in IB), and you're going around saying other people have an "inferior profession"? You know people don't talk like this in the industry, right?
I don't know how everyone else have read your post, but I gathered that you have a serious attitude problem. You were lazy and entitled, which is how you ended up at your crap university. You go around shitting on other careers and people from your alma mater. And you're also delusional about how "talented" you are re. getting into a T7 MBA programme and going to work in the US.
You are the last person I would want on my team. Not because of your A-Levels. Not even because you went to a bad university. But because you have no respect: not for your parents, not for others at your university, not for other careers. You really need to get real with the fact that you're not as good as you think.
-I agree that I'm not as good as I need to be for my ambitions hence why I'm trying hard to make up for the mistakes I made in the past. I got a first class degree and I'm in a relatively competitive grad scheme and have received a Master's offer from a decent/relatively prestigious university. If I didn't give a fuck and was entitled I wouldn't even try to improve. Just to be clear, I don't feel entitled to anything - I'm in this situation due to my own mistakes.
- Accounting is objectively inferior to IB in terms of prestige, pay, competition, influence and most relevant metrics.
- As for the 'lofty comments' - I'm literally giving an honest account of my background. I have rich parents and can afford to spend 50k on a Master's degree if it would help boost my prospects. I considered re-sitting my A-Levels when I found out my terrible results, but the universities I needed to get into don't accept re-sit applicants so it would've been a waste of a year. Also most elite careers in this field ask for your A-Level results at the first attempt, so even if I achieved great re-sit grades it wouldn't have made a significant difference.
- Regarding the US MBA plan - I literally have a better chance of getting into IB in America after doing an MBA there than I do of getting into IB here in London lol. I have several friends who work in IB here and I know how competitive recruiting is. Even if you're a diversity applicant it's extremely tough. My A-Levels are immutable and will always hold me back if I'm trying to get an IB role in London. At least with the US MBA -> IB associate plan my A-Levels won't be a determining factor. That's why I'm targeting tier 2/ boutique consulting and corporate finance.
- My friends who work in IB are some of the elitist people you can meet and their views aren't exactly uncommon in the industry, so I'm not sure why you're trying to act as if IB isn't filled with pompous, arrogant individuals.
- I am not entitled to anything, I am just trying to make the best of my situation. I am where I am due to my own mistakes.
I like you a little more now because you were able to take my comments on the chin without getting defensive. Maybe your ego isn't as big as you say it is - that's a good thing. I still don't like how you talk about accounting; accounting is not an "inferior" career, it is just a "different" career. Personally I would not want to work in it but that's because I find accounting boring.
It is a shame that your friends are all elitist. I have never come across someone who's disparaged someone on the basis of university etc., in real life at work.
Helpful comments:
I don't know if it is true that firms look only at your first sit attempt of your A-Levels. I can't remember any bank that I applied to that specified that. Moreover, JPM, GS, Citi, BofA did not even ask for A-Levels at all in the application process I don't think. But whatever, you're not going to do another BSc so moot point.
If you have a Masters, you don't need to include your A-levels anymore on your CV. Likewise me with my BSc, I don't include my GCSEs anymore. Just takes up space. Imperial Business School has ok placement into various different areas within finance.
America is difficult because of visas etc.
Widen your search slightly beyond just sector/coverage M&A investment banking. Also consider capital markets, corporate banking, S&T, etc. What matters is getting your foot through the door and then moving around internally. I know people on here like to harp about how difficult/impossible internal mobility is, but in my team there is only one senior who started in the team, everyone else came from other divisions or desks.
Echoing others but priority is to move to big 4 FDD/TAS asap.
In UK you can even go direct to MM/LMM PE from TAS, usually at manager level. It is far from over and I don't see a move to IB being that difficult. Worst case you do a US MBA at 25-26 with a few years of deal adjacent experience under your belt.
Honestly don’t give up!! I was in the same position as you - even worse I would say. I genuinely failed my A Levels (think UDE) because I got into some really bad situations and never bothered revising. I got rejected from all my uni options and I ended up at a really shit uni through clearing for a foundation year. Somehow managed to switch unis by applying again with better grades from my foundation year and ended up at a semi-target! Now I’ve managed to receive a great IB grad scheme. A levels will never hold you back as long as you believe in yourself that you can and will do better. You’ve already managed to bag a masters so you can easily turn this around it’s not too late at all!
Were you not asked to list your a levels when applying for grad schemes?
what did you actually get for your A levels?
No just foundation year grades and maths and english gcse which i passed
Buddy look on linkedin how many people on the buy-side or sell-side IB/ER started like you at big 4, got their ACA and moved. This forum is a vacuum, your career is a long time. London is NOT THE U.S., Big 4 to IB is an established pipeline.
I bet in 10 years time you'll look back on this a changed person and realise how quickly things change.
You're clearly a prestige-wh*re though, you will only kill yourself living this way. Learn to enjoy life.
Just finish your ACA and if you are at the big4/BDO/Grant Thorton/Crowe etc then get into TAS/Corporate Finance Advisory (M&A) and do a year or 2 there and then start applying for analyst positions at MMs and EBs and BBs. Your ACA will set you up nicely for alot of MM firms as they value it in the UK.
This is the long way to get in but considering non-target + no relevant experience it seems like this is the path I would recommend if you really want to get into IB and honestly you will have a good chance at breaking in as long as you get some deals in. This should take you 4-5 years but joining as an AN1 at 25/26 is fine.
Best of Luck pal.
You just sound like a rude, self-entitled prick tbh. Looking down on professions and unis you consider lesser. Has it occurred to you that perhaps you're just not good enough and you're just mad at yourself for underperforming despite being set up for success?
my advice is you made your fucking bed, stfu and just work harder. You are the reason why people think UK candidates are weaker. Cause the moment something doesnt go your way and you think you deserve it you throw a massive fking tantrum. the world doesnt owe you shit
I have just started as an associate at an elite boutique (think PJT/EVR/Moelis/etc), with a similar background to you. Average A-levels, low ranking university, Big 4 ACA, etc. Yes, this is not the common path, but I’ve come to realise that there are plenty just like us in the industry in London – I have never heard of the schools that 40%+ of my peers attended. I considered an MBA, but after a couple of wasted years preparing, I came to realise that it wasn’t required in the UK or Europe (bankers rarely have MBAs in Europe, but there are plenty of ACAs around). Different story if you want to build your career in the US.
If you’re planning to build your career in the UK/Europe, my advice is as follows:
Landing a banking job is hard for everyone (this is what makes them elite). Yes it’s harder for some than others – c’est la vie. But you’re in a great place and have a great chance of landing a top role in a few years time. The EBs are filled with ex Big 4 ACA’s – run a LinkedIn search and see for yourself.
Money appears to be your motivator since you’re comparing your "Cambridge" friends’ salaries with yours. If money is truly your motivator, there are plenty of career paths out there that pays more than IB with significantly less hours. If IB is what you really want to do, you’ll get there. Careers are a marathon, not a sprint. Good luck!
DM me if you have any questions, happy to chat.
Money isn't my main motivation or else I wouldn't consider IB since the pay per hour is embarrassing. Prestige is my motivation.
Regarding the Big 4 transfer - I don't think it's possible because all of the job opportunities on Big 4 careers sites are for graduate roles and experienced roles. There aren't any opportunities for transfers before qualifying.
I'm not sure how to reach out to recruiters and don't have a LinkedIn since I was way too embarrassed to set one up during university since I didn't want to mention my non target uni.
I have already considered the route you've outlined and the concern I have with it is the reliance on being able to transfer - what if a transfer isn't possible? What if I get stuck in tax? Wouldn't the Master's degree help me target Big 4 graduate transactions roles without having to rely on a transfer into Big 4 tax then an internal transfer into transactions?
Since I've already passed a few ACA exams so far, would it make me ineligible to apply for Big 4 graduate schemes that only take fresh grads who have never done the ACA before?
Also doing a US MBA is definitely an ambition of mine. Whether I get into an M7 is an entirely different issue, but I'd want to try at the very least as long as my GMAT is above the MBA class average. Doing the Imperial Master's will look a lot better on MBA applications than my shithole undergraduate uni.
My options are:
-Take Imperial Master's - > target big 4 transactions/corporate finance /Boutique consulting roles - > try for a M7 MBA - > post MBA IB associate
Or
-hope to transfer into the Big 4 which may not happen and get stuck in my mediocre advisory ACA grad scheme.
I'm not too fussed with not getting into IB in London since I want to do a US MBA and transition into IB post MBA over there. If I don't get a visa I'll still have a prestigious M7 MBA and I'll just work in the middle east for the tax free salary or something.
Worst case scenario I don't get into an M7 MBA in which case the MBA and IB ambitions go down the drain and I'll probably just give up and coast in a mediocre role. At least I'll have the Imperial Master's which is semi respectable so I won't have to lie to people where I went to university lol.
You're thinking about this way too much. Think less and apply to more opportunities. The market will let you know the right path. Try not to take a negative view, be optimistic – what if it all works out? I know a disproportionate number of people who started in tax are now in IB/PE/HF. Tax background makes you analytical and good with legal docs. You just need to convince an MD that you also have a commercial mindset and are aware of ket market activity and trends.
A US MBA does not make sense unless you want a career in the US. The UK is more meritocratic and the MDs are commercial. If they think they will make more money by hiring you over the next candidate, they will hire you – irrespective of your educational background. To be able to make the MD money at the analyst level, you need to be a good fit in the team, know your stuff, be good at what you do, have the right drive and motivations which enable you to continue performing over the mid to long term.
As a side note, you will be a very miserable person if your purpose in life is to chase prestige. A therapist may be a better investment than the masters degree.
When you bomb your sophomore ib gig at Rbc and get memed on wso but have to live in shame and work at cvp.
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GONNA input my 2 cents.
Back in the day I did get an offer for Cambridge. Somehow, I studied medicine and another degree in public health.
I would say for my peers at Cambridge, really only the best 5-10% end up with a full-time offer in a reputable IBD firm. Some fail to convert spring, some fail to convert summer, and then another sizeable percentage didn't stay in finance after 2 years. Many end up in no-name firms for their first job or other random grad schemes. My colleagues in public health in the UK earn 30k, and I think even assistant professors with PhDs from world-leading institutions earn 30k-40k pounds. For my colleagues in medicine, a junior doctor starts on 20k and after CCT completion earns 40k after 13 years of education. Contrasted to the ACA which has a median avg salary of 100k pounds with less educational requirements - feeling better? Don't compare yourself to VPs on this site.
All this to say that I truly believe - as a medic in training - accounting definitely is a very solid career & not at all "inferior". The opportunity to complete the ACA is a golden ticket that provides a solid respectable life. No point in comparing yourself to the top 1%-10% at Cambridge who were focused, prepared, motivated enough to land that IBD/PE role.
Honestly man - even if I went to Cambridge, I was fully prepared (and even to some degree expecting) to not land an IBD role (most don't). You know what I would have done? I would have entered into any role that gave structured training opportunities & a clear path for progression - real estate PE, corporate finance, ACA training - and then worked hard and kept hunting for better opportunities. That's really why Oxbridge grads are successful - the majority don't start in a "good" graduate job but worked very hard and are dedicated. You'll see a lot of them started at a Big 4, then became partner, or lateral to a small PE firm, or corporate, and worked their way up into senior mgmt.
All this to say its about your attitude. Living in the past is useless, why not live in the present & look to the future
I'm aware that I'm in a pretty good job. Even if I never change companies for the rest of my career I will make a lot of money since I'm already on more than £40k. If you read my other responses I know that I come across as elitist, but I do that because I'm constantly striving for more. I know I have a great job compared to most graduates, but I don't want to compare myself to the average otherwise it would be very easy for me to settle with what I have. I'm constantly striving for more and want to see how far I can go which is why I'm constantly comparing myself to people better than me so it forces me to keep pushing for more.
There are Oxford and Cambridge graduates on my graduate scheme and I've literally asked a few of them bluntly 'what are you doing here...why aren't you at McKinsey or J.P. Morgan?' and they tell me they didn't get any offers. So I'm aware that it's only a small amount from Oxford/Cambridge/LSE that get elite careers.
That's why I'm deciding to do the Master's because I still plan to pursue my MBA ambitions and the Master's will look a lot better than my undergrad uni on my CV and will help me in my MBA applications because of the Master's uni prestige (a lot better than my irrelevant non-target undergrad) and because it could help me get good pre-MBA experience in corporate finance/consulting. In the worst case scenario where I don't get the offers I want during my Master's, I can just get on another ACA training contract.
The reason why I'm concerned about the past is because it can still adversely impact the present and future. My A-Levels could get my rejected from grad schemes I apply to during my Master's degree, which is why I'm hesitant to accept the offer.
Bro the Masters is never a requirement. You are in the UK where ACAs could jump to private equity. If you choose to do it. Just please have a very good reason on the specific change you want to make.
Hot take. But Imperial's business school is not the very best. It is probably not well known outside of London. LBS and LSE are the best, then a half tier below - Cambridge Judge and Oxford Said. So you are competing with those people again, except that they have a better undergrad, better A levels and "better" work experience. Your offer is not as good as you think it is. People are impressed with an Imperial BSc Engineering degree not an MSc in Management. If you don't smash it out of the park with your grad job then you will have shot yourself in the foot.
You have to understand that Masters in Management are mostly worthless in the corporate world and are undertaken by fresh out of UG students who want one last shot at recruiting into investment banking. So the fact that you have one without a stellar resume (3 IBD summers, etc etc) puts you at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to recruiting.
I know I'm giving a lot of unsolicited advice that you could choose to take or not. But I. Know. How the game is played. NOBODY, drops out in the middle of their ACA to do a "Masters in Management", whatever tf that means. EVERYONE on that path gets the charter, because THAT. Is what puts food in your mouth and a foundation to build off of. Not a shitty "Masters" from Imperial that was literally designed to fund the university's research activities from the coffers of international wealth desperate for a better life in the UK.
PLAY THE GAME. Play the hand you're dealt. You come from a "scrappy" background. There are different ways to play the game of life. If you are the perfect Eton -> Oxbridge -> MBB, then you play the prestige game, trading companies like playing cards due to your impressive background. If you started at University of York, you play the qualifications game, and assume the underdog character that has excellent technical skills - ACA, CFA, honest hardworking young gun with a lot to prove type of character. Why? It's the only way you survive, because no one will be impressed by your background.
Respect your ambition. Think carefully about the Masters. If you decide to go through with it. Email 40 recruiters from MBB. Then another 40 from the investment banks. Ask them directly if the Masters will help your career.
Prestige - sorry to say this but most people ex-finance don't know what investment banking and private equity is. I really think this is a poor motivator.
Even if you get to a stage where people are fawning over you and giving you words of affirmation - the effect on your life is minuscule and it won't sustain you.
If prestige really is your main motivator - it might be easier to stay in accounting wouldn't it.
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