Know this is a long short. But is there anyone in here who came from Africa. Never went to a big University, not from a rich family & eventually broke into Investment Banking in the US,EU or Middle East? I work at a Big 4 (Senior Associate-Audit) in Zambia. Crazy hours, low pay. IB has always been a dream,but even if I saved up, it'd take me more than 6 years to get the money for a top University. Writing CFA L1, but I'm told no one cares about it, same as my BAcc or ACCA. Only a Top MBA Counts.

like
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

I work on the compliance side of investment banking and can tell you, an MBA is not needed to break into this industry, depending on the role you’re interested in. If you already work for a big 4 and want to move to US, look for the only international investment banking firm in Raleigh, NC… they may also be willing to sponsor a visa and do need auditors atm.

like

I was fortunate enough to start in IB Client Onboarding with zero banking/finance background and later moved to Compliance. It truly all depends in what area you’re being hired. In NY the market is so saturated with finance/banking talent that the bar is quite high. In NC, that is not the case. You see police officers in compliance, former school teachers in COB, and software engineers now auditing. These are external and internal hires.

One route you could consider is breaking in through the South African offices first. I know Citi for example has an IB team based there. If you impress enough and push for it, chances are low, but you might get to rotate into the London office.

Another thing you should keep in mind is that you might have to take a “demotion” i.e. it’s very likely that they would only take you on as a senior analyst, given lack of direct IB experience.

There are a couple of Africa focussed advisory/PE firms that have an office in New York/London and then country offices in Africa - you could try break into the country office and work yourself into the New York/London office.

Another route might not be IB, but MBB consulting. BCG for example might take you on in South Africa and after a year or two (more likely than at an IB), you could rotate into another office.

like

It’s a long shot .. your best route is get into a top MBA program .. a lot wants to get into IB.. and if someone does makes a recommendation, you will be competing against candidates from top tier schools and top tier MBA programs .. and to be honest when you interview, you will be interviewing with a lot of people and ppl select based on projected success and whom they can work with .. most in IB went to top tier MBA programs so they already know the product of a top tier MBA.. there are exceptions to this .. but you have already said it.. it’s a long shot ..

If i were you i would look to move internally to valuations or FDD teams, then make the jump to IB.

Related Posts

What are bonuses like for a first year IB Analyst in London? (Think US banks like GS, MS, Citi etc.)

like

What’s the pay range for a L5 engagement manager? Couldn’t find on levels fyi

Worked a few years at a small company and wondering what it actually takes to make the big jump to MBB. Anyone willing to connect and share insights?

like

Wondering how much a Partner makes in Big 4 consulting? Is there really that big of a difference at the Partner level compared to MBB (starting 7 figure)?

like

Out of curiosity and to see how we all compare to one another, what are people seeing as raise changes from Senior 1 to Senior 2? I want to see if an 8% raise is fair or poor

like

Adobe PMs whats your average total package compensation wise?

like

What is the salary range for C11 data Analyst at Citibank? And how much salary hike is expected from current CTC?
Currently working as software engineer with 6lpa Citi

like

Is non profit tax and other tax exempt work such as pension trusts, private foundations, etc. considered a specialty tax line? What’s the outlook of this field and opportunities outside of PA?

like

Studied accounting and finance but worried about the future of this profession. Currently working in Forensic Consulting but want to leave. Should I go back to undergrad and get a computer science degree? I honestly want a career where I could at least potentially make 600 k per year. I feel in accounting it’s near impossible. Additionally, I’m sick of people looking down on me. My gf is getting a PhD in a social science and gets way more respect then me. I am 25 also. HELP

likefunny
like

Bonus for EY S&O?

likefunny
like

Anyone here go in-house to Amazon from big law? If so, what kind of a pay cut can I expect to take? Currently 5th year on Cravath scale.

like

Do most firms start reporting years in September or January? Prior firm did an August year for counting hours and then another did January (both Amlaw 200). Looking at an Amlaw 100 to lateral in the fall (so trying to anticipate how much of the year I’ll have). I’ll ask what bonus/reporting year but just curious if most follow the same.

like

Most staff/sr assoc would make 80% of salary for the next 4 months if fired & yet firms are considering pay cuts.

Like at this point just fire me idk what kool aid some of you are drinking

like

Holding an offer of 20.5LPA. Now selected for C1 band at Capegemini. How much should I ask?
YoE 6.10, Tech Stack AWS DevOps, CCTC 10.5 LPA
Capgemini

Hi guys,
Currently I'm senior operations executive in infy, i got 2 offer. 1.cognizant - program Analyst with 7.2lpa and 2. Amdocs - functional test engineer with 8.8lpa.
I'm from tamilnadu, CTS Is chennai and amdocs is pune.
Can u suggest me which is good ??

like

Is 80k cash + 20k company share a good deal for a junior dev role in the bay area?🙏

like

I just got a job offer for an Entry Level Software Engineer at Boeing in Saint Louis. The salary is $82,000 with an $8,000 sign on bonus. I was hoping for an offer closer to 90k base and I don’t care too much for a sign on bonus. However, this is a lot more than what I’m making now, and would be my first SWE job. Should I counter? If so, how would I go about doing that? Thanks!

like

How do you know if you applied for a position to low? What I mean is got accepted for a position as a senior associate but if all firms are desperate for staff should I have applied for experienced senior associate? I have two years of experience of public accounting and two years outside practice.

like

More Posts

I'm an A1 and want to move to industry. would anyone be able to provide a referral to Salesforce or Slalom? I'm looking at a couple non-client facing roles there

likefunny

Hey All,

Can anyone help me with a referral for Sales?

5+ YOE in Enterprise Sales(SaaS)

Thanks! 😊

like

How much will be in hand ?

Post Photo
like

Any openings for manual/automation testing at Bosch

like

I’m starting to study for the CPA exams. Do you think I need to watch the lectures?

like

Hi Recruiters,

I am actively looking for job switch. 4.1 years of experience as core Oracle DBA. Currently working with CTS serving notice. Please let me know if you can refer me lead me to any open position for same.

Thanks in advance...!!

like

Had several great interviews at a company. Reached out to internal recruiter a few days ago. No word back. Should I send a LinkedIn message to the person that would be my boss to check in?

Can we start a thread for all the acronyms? Y’all lose me with all the lingo 😂

funnylike

Hello everyone, is there any job vacancies for finance manager and sales manager.?

like

What kind of background verification does deloitte do while onbarding a experienced candidate?

like

Any restaurant recommendations in Florence Italy

like

Has anyone ever traveled to Thailand during October? I've read it's the end of the monsoon season and rains heavily. But is it still enjoyable?

like

This group needs more members !!!

like

Its a long shot but I am looking to move to Charlotte next year and wanted to know if there are any open remote jobs in learning and development. i have 8 years experience with specialty in lms and compliance

What is the onboarding process at Mindtree? When should we get the details about the joining

like

Anyone using roofstock? Model seems really interesting. Would love to talk to someone using it.

like

Those currently hiring - Has the job market become inundated with applicants again or are you still finding qualified applicants to be scarce?

like

How much is the referral amount in Nagarro if my reference joins Nagarro and after how many months I'm going to receive it?

like

Took five days off. Came back to no meetings before 10am AND zero fires to put out. Regardless of what you think, your team can likely function a few days without you with the proper OOO plan. Take the time, get sane, work is not everything.

like

Additional Posts in Investment Banking - IBD

What are bonuses like for a first year IB Analyst in London? (Think US banks like GS, MS, Citi etc.)

like

Thoughts on the Tech investment banking scene in Charlotte, North Carolina?

like

What are banks currently paying VP1, VP2 and VP3 in terms of base comp? Seeing a lot of VP departures to other industries and wondering if banks are no longer competitive.

like

Any advice for moving from being a lawyer to secondary advisory or private fund groups that combine this with placement/fundraising?

like

heyy could you please help me with this question:

why does cap structure not influence firm value?
❤️

like

Just signed an offer and moving to Chicago in about a month. Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone there. Any best practices for finding roommates?

like

Any recommendations on brushing up on PowerPoint?

like

Does anyone know Barclays Ib summer bonus cycle month?? Thanks in advance

like

What are realistic expectations for 3rd Year Analyst / Direct Promote Associate bonus range at a BB? Note that at MS, 2nd year bonuses in my group last year were 90-115K, while MBA associates received a pro-rated 90K stub (~40k). Personally would be pretty unhappy to take a pay cut between 2nd and 3rd year…

like

Interesting all the noise about these PPT, my take:

The pandemic took all the upside of an IB analyst life (client meetings in person, fancy trips, suit up, worshiped at networking events) and left all the juniors with the downside (long hours, monkey-like type of job, aggressive work environment).

Not that the complaints are not sort of legitimate but you may need to revise the decision-making process that led you to accept a return offer. Specially if you were looking for less hours.

like

Is breaking into equity research/coverage teams as hard as breaking into traditional advisory/M&A IB being from a non target school with a non finance degree?

like

Does Barclays UK help it's employees who are interested in getting financial/ accounting certifications?Barclays

like

Asking for wife who's also in banking. If she got ~$100k in signing bonus in 2019 for 1 year commitment in CA and started FT in July 2020, assuming she leaves before July 2021, can her employer claw back full amount in California? Some say it's much tougher to do so under CA law but wonder if anyone has any insights. Banks won't likely care about analyst signing bonuses, but associate bonus at EB with diversity bonus can be significant. If she quits before, she won't be going to another bank.

like
like

Can anyone shed light on the Houlihan lokey process

Looks like some bonus numbers are coming out for bankers, would appreciate any insights!

like

Thoughts on GP Bullhound?

I’m four months into my job and I got put onto a PIP. I worked so hard to break into IB, put up all the hours and even working 2am nights for weeks, learned a ton, and improved a lot along the way as the sole analyst yet this happens. I’m extra worried because it doesn’t seem there’s IB analyst positions out there. Im really hoping come January more positions come up but I’m just praying they don’t fire me until then. Anyone have general tips for this situation?

like

Hi All,
I have been invited to a networking event for a BB IB. I was wondering if anyone can help me out what is generally expected out of the participants? Shall I carry my resume or just get to know the people. Thank you 🙏

likehelpful

Equity research associate considering to pivot into IBD. Is this a wise choice? Heard ER is an exit for some of the IB folks out there.

like

New to Fishbowl?

Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
  • Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
  • Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
  • Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.

Already a user?
Login here

Share

Embed this post

Copy and paste embed code on your site

Preview

Download the
Fishbowl app

See what’s happening in your industry
from the palm of your hand.

A phone with Fishbowl app

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

Download app

Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Already have an account? Log in

Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use(New) and Privacy Policy(New)
Messaging rates may apply

Already have an account? Log in

For account settings, visit Fishbowl on Desktop Browser or

General

Legal