Good morning everyone!

I am making a very big decision in my life, I currently work in aviation but fell in love with finances for the past year or so. I have my GI bill and am going to shoot for a MBA in finance and risk. I was wondering if anyone has gone down this road or started at 24 like me. I’d appreciate any and every bit of criticism or advice or anything, I do not want to go into this blind

Thank you so much!

and how do I get there?

I’m interested in pursuing a career in investment banking in the future. I’m considering doing my bachelor’s degree in Philosophy Honours from a top college. Unfortunately, I may not have the opportunity to pursue more traditional fields such as Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, or Economics at a top institution.

I wanted to ask whether a liberal arts background, specifically a Philosophy degree, would still allow me to build a successful career in investment banking. Since investment banking is often associated with quantitative or finance-related degrees, I would like to understand whether candidates from a Philosophy background can still be competitive and what additional skills or qualifications might help bridge the gap.

I’m double majoring in political science and environmental studies (have genuine interest in sustainability). I’ve done 2 boutique investment bank/brokerage internships so far, both in an emerging Asian market. Technicals are pretty good although there’s always room for improvements. took calc 1 and 2 and econ classes as electives. cgpa is good.

Honestly not sure how competitive I actually am here. UofT isn’t really considered a target school for US/Canada IB (semi target at best) and my major isn’t stem, finance or econ. Can I still get in with networking and building on the internships I already have? Or is this genuinely an uphill battle I shouldn’t be spending this much time on? in other words look for other career opportunities.

Also curious if anyone else broke into IB with a non-finance/non-STEM background. what actually worked for you?

Thanks guys for your input!

To my fellow UK FP&A community I am trying to understand how are you finding the market. I am struggling to land an interview. I have tailored my CV to the roles. But not getting any interviews. Is there something you are doing that has helped you land a job. I have LinkedIn premium as well sent dms to job posters but nothing.

Hey everyone,

I’m currently about two weeks into my M&A internship (Corp Dev), and I just wanted to get a reality check from people who have been through similar internships.

For context: I'm a rising sophomore at a semi-target.

My day-to-day so far has mostly consisted of making pitch decks, sourcing, researching, and a fair amount of doomscrolling. I always keep seeing other kids in my network talking about getting "crazy deal reps" and massive hands-on deal experience right out of the gate, which always confused me.

Don't get me wrong, I’m still really glad to have this role. It's giving me insanely solid foundational experience, and I'm learning a lot on the small necessary skills for later interviews (attention to detail, how to properly format and send a good email, etc.).

I just want to make sure my "quality of work" here isn't lacking compared to what others are actually getting. I'm pretty sure this is the norm and I'm just tripping, but I'd love to hear some thoughts from this sub.

• A) Is this normal? Are most early internships like this, or am I missing out on heavier technical work?
• B) How can I maximize this role? What should I realistically try to get out of this experience so I can best leverage it for internships for M&A/IB interviews down the line?
• C) What were your internships actually like? I'd love to hear some honest perspectives on what your day-to-day was (actual hours worked, meaningful tasks vs. busywork) compared to the usual larp on linkedin

Hi all, I’m a rising junior at a target school that struck out on BB WM.

I still want to pursue WM in future and I plan to take SIE in September. What should I be doing to increase my chances? What firms/types of firms should I be targeting?

I just accepted a position in NYC at a major financial institution. I will be in a back office role (HR)

I was arrested in college 2018 for a misdemeanor possession of marijuana in NJ. The case was dismissed and I was not convicted of anything. I’ve passed two other corporate background checks just fine, but I’ve never worked in a financial institution before, so I’m a bit worried. I filled out my initial onboarding paperwork already - they asked about felony convictions and misdemeanors involving forgery, bribery, fraud, etc. all of which I do not have.

I might be worrying over nothing, but does anyone have experience with this?

I basically looks for battery capacity without multiple charging, I looks for office work, multitask , editing, finance, trading. Heavy excel works , multiple chrome tabs

21-year-old about to launch as a financial advisor. Experienced CFPs, how would you evaluate my situation?

TL;DR

This is a bit long because there are a lot of parts but I truly appreciate any insight and perspective, thanks in advance!

I'm 21, have a finance degree, Series 7/66, Life & Health licenses, and I'm finishing my CFP coursework/master certificate.

I've spent the last year at a small independent firm that sponsored my licenses and has been great about helping me get into the industry.

I only have two paths:

Option 1: Stay a W-2 licensed admin.

• No salary or benefits.
• Firm covers business expenses.
• I only get paid if I bring in clients.
• BD takes 10%, then I split the remaining revenue 50/50 with the firm (I keep about 45%).
• They generally continue running client meetings.

Option 2: Become a 1099 advisor under the exact same firm.

• About $1,000/month in business expenses.
• BD takes 10%.
• Mentor takes another 10% for supervision, compliance help, and business processing.
• I keep roughly 80% of what I bring in.
• I own my clients, have my own rep code, and can actually provide advice.
• I'm not completely on my own. The admin still helps with paperwork, my mentor is still available for guidance, and I still operate under the same firm and broker-dealer.

My parents will become my first clients and should generate roughly $10k-$12k/year before splits, which would essentially cover my business overhead if I become an advisor.

The catch is that every dollar I ever make has to come from clients I personally find. There is no salary, no book being handed to me, and no guaranteed succession. (Although is often mentioned)

I'm not asking which option pays more. I'm asking if there are things about this overall situation that experienced advisors immediately recognize as good or bad.

The Situation (Contains all the details)

I've been at this firm for a little over a year.

It's just:

• One advisor (around 80 years old)
• His wife, who runs the administrative side
• No junior advisors

The advisor has approximately:

• ~100 clients
• ~$35M AUM
• Mostly W-2 retirees

He no longer actively prospects and has talked about moving toward higher net worth clients.

To their credit, they've:

• Sponsored my licenses
• Paid for my licensing exams
• Got me affiliated with the broker-dealer
• Been genuinely kind and supportive

I'm grateful for everything they've done.

However, I also don't want gratitude to cloud my judgment when making a long-term career decision.

What gives me pause

1. Every client has to come from me.

There is:

• No salary
• No benefits
• No existing clients
• No revenue from their current book

If I don't prospect successfully, I don't make money.

The only realistic ways I would ever receive clients are:

• A future succession (nothing is in writing)
• My mentor starts focusing exclusively on UHNW clients and transitions smaller relationships to me

2. The training hasn't been very structured.

I've learned the technology and have sat in on meetings.

What I haven't really learned is a repeatable advisory process.

Most meetings are spent:

• Catching up with clients
• Discussing life updates
• Listening to stories and tangents

I haven't seen much comprehensive planning, and the client base is very different from the business owners and entrepreneurs I ultimately want to build my practice around.

3. I already lost one client because I wasn't the advisor.

I brought in a family friend.

They ended up staying with my mentor instead.

He's told me multiple times he's happy to split some of the revenue because I brought them in, but nothing has actually happened.

That experience makes me nervous about building relationships that ultimately become someone else's clients.

4. The dynamic between my mentor and his wife is difficult to read.

This is honestly one of the biggest reasons I'm making this post.

My mentor has repeatedly told me:

• He doesn't want to make money off me.
• He just wants to help me succeed.
• He paid for my licensing exams.
• He wanted to pay for me to attend another conference this year.

His wife tends to have a different perspective.

She consistently recommends that I stay in the W-2 admin role with the 50/50 split while they continue running the meetings. She always explains that she's recommending this because she wants to see me succeed and thinks it's the safest path for someone new.

I genuinely believe they both have good intentions.

The confusing part is that I feel like I'm constantly getting two different messages.

When I speak with my mentor one-on-one, it often feels like he's encouraging me to become an advisor and build my own business.

When the three of us meet together, the conversation usually shifts toward the admin role or a 50/50 split, and my mentor generally defers to his wife.

I'm curious whether this is a fairly normal dynamic in a husband-and-wife practice or whether it's something I should weigh more heavily.

5. Succession is uncertain.

Succession has been mentioned, but nothing is written down.

He also frequently talks about leaving the business to his son, who has his licenses but left the business after a couple of weeks because he didn't enjoy it.

Because of that, I'm assuming there is no succession plan until something actually exists on paper.

My goals

Long term I want to:

• Build my own independent planning practice.
• Focus on business owners and entrepreneurs.
• Build long-term client relationships.
• Eventually operate my own business.

I also have an infant at home, so flexibility is important.

My question

If you were 21 and starting over today, how would you evaluate this situation?

Not just "which option would you pick," but the entire arrangement.

• Are there green flags I'm overlooking?
• Are there red flags that immediately stand out?
• Is this a great opportunity that simply requires patience?
• Or does this sound like a difficult environment to build a modern advisory practice?

I'd especially appreciate hearing from advisors who have built books from scratch, worked in independent BD firms, experienced succession arrangements, or mentored younger advisors.

Note: I used AI to help organize my thoughts and make sure I didn't leave out important context. The situation, facts, and questions are all my own.

Hi guys, Im fortunate enough to be a rising senior at a top 5 undergraduate business school who is currently working at a elite boutique investment bank. While the pay is top notch ( first year ~110-120k, expected bonus 80-100% of salary) and a return offer is nearly guaranteed through the internship, Im not sure if the career is right for me. Living in a big city combined with strenuous hours makes me wonder if I can do this for two years without becoming depressed. My major is finance and business analytics and Im particularly interested in renewable energy within this. Outside of internship/school I am a collegiate athlete so naturally I have a great interest in pharmacology/performance biology/the human body and often find myself reading scientific journals for fun. My question basically boils down to: Stay in IB for high pay, stable job, and near guaranteed promotion, or either find a job in renewable energy for less pay or potentially go to Med school? Happy to elaborate on anything more in the comments and I appreciate the help.

I posted a year or so ago about beginning work at an RIA and i asked about how I should bring up a disclosure from a prior employer. I have a disclosure from a BD where I previously worked. They fired me for allegedly simulating working activity. Not a client facing disclosure, not a huge deal. At this new RIA I worked in admin doing contracts and now have started this advisor training program where I can get sponsored and get more licenses. I am going to begin the registration process soon and my question is:

when if at all should I bring up my disclosure to my manager?

I’d love to be transparent before I submit my U4 just in case I need to disclose this on there and my employer sees it. But I don’t want to bring it up if it’s not that big a deal and it could jeapordize my standing with the company. They’ve invested a lot in my and I’ve done good work so I don’t think it would hurt to be transparent and this point. What should I do?

Had an initial interview with them today for a wealth management role. However ngl, this feels like another northwest mutual typa situation. The interviewer was a bit unprofessional, and the vibe i’m getting from videos and the more i read about the firm raises a few red flags. Anyone who has worked there or knows about it got any advice?

Hello! How much would a entry level Credit Analyst make at a bank? This is located Orange County, CA. Thank you!

I’m an associate in corporate banking. I know incoming analysts are going to have it very tough soon which I hate to see, but my firm has subscribed to Claude enterprise and it is startling how good it is. i can drop a zip file of a company’s historical financials into Claude and have have it do the entire analysis portion of a credit memo in a few minutes. I simply can’t compete with it. I have become very proficient at using it as a tool and I’m hoping I can create some job security by building up my abilities with Claude, but it seems like we’re not too far away from it being able to do most of our jobs completely (unless you’re in or close to being in a revenue generating seat). I think the only saving grace right now is that the way all the senior folks have been using Claude at my firm is laughable, and they are painfully unaware of how much they don’t understand about what it can and can’t do. This tells me that they are overconfident about their abilities when it comes to using ai. I can assume this is or will be the case at other firms. Analysts and associates are the ones who have the strongest grasp of ai. If we were all to get fired, the seniors would run every firm to the ground if they think they can take on our work by using ai in its current form. But how long until that’s not the case?

I’m looking for some honest career advice because I’m starting to run out of ideas.

I’m a U.S. citizen, but I spent the first 10 years of my finance career overseas, so I have essentially zero U.S. work experience. My entire background is in equity research, both sell-side and buy-side, and I’m a CFA charterholder.

Due to a family situation, I need to stay in Miami until around February next year. I’ve been here for about three months now, trying to build a long-term career here, and I haven’t received a single interview.

I’ve tried pretty much every avenue I can think of.
The investment teams I’d genuinely like to join aren’t really hiring. Firms like Polen Capital value international investing experience, but there simply aren’t openings. Franklin Templeton hasn’t responded positively to any of my applications (they also seem to be going through restructuring). GQG Capital is another target, but every opening seems to attract hundreds of applicants.

Within Miami, many trust companies, family offices, and wealth management firms either aren’t hiring investment professionals or require fluent Spanish. The same goes for many banking roles (JPMorgan, BBVA, etc.), where Spanish or Portuguese is often listed as a requirement. Unfortunately, I don’t speak either language.

I’ve also broadened my search into corporate finance roles at companies like the cruise lines, but no luck there either. I check LinkedIn multiple times a day, filter for jobs posted within the last 24 hours, and I’m usually among the first applicants.

I’ve joined my local CFA Society chapter, attended events, met some great people, and I’m trying to network as much as possible.

I’ve spoken with a few recruiters as well. One of them was particularly concerned about the one-year gap on my résumé. He basically said employers might assume I was difficult to work with, a job hopper, or financially independent. The first two aren’t true. I only stayed six months at my last role because it wasn’t a good fit, but I spent seven years at the employer before that.

The financially independent part is actually true. I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I didn’t need to work for a while. But that doesn’t mean I never want to work again. Savings don’t last forever, and I genuinely want to build the next stage of my career.

I’m based near Brickell and would happily commute to Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Fort Lauderdale, or pretty much anywhere reasonable. I’d also be perfectly happy working in the office five days a week. I’ve looked extensively at remote U.S.-based roles too, but that hasn’t led anywhere either.
The only realistic change I can make is relocating to New York around February next year, but I’m worried I’ll end up facing many of the same challenges there.

For those of you who have been through something similar,
or who work in investment management, equity research, or recruiting, is there anything obvious I’m missing? Is this mostly a Miami problem, a market problem, or something about my background that I’m underestimating?

A recruiter also told me not to expect a salary around $120,000 a year because it wasn’t realistic. Fair enough, I can accept less. But another industry professional told me that $120,000 would actually be the low end for someone with my experience.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to negotiate compensation when I haven’t even landed an interview yet. The problem is that I’m willing to accept a junior-level salary, but employers don’t seem willing to consider me for junior roles because they assume I’ll use them as a stepping stone and leave as soon as something better comes along.

So I feel like I’m stuck in this awkward limbo.

I am 24F. Was fortunate enough to break into VC. It’s a small fund in India.
Since I am just a beginner, I want to develop good conversation skills.

It’s been a week since I joined. I was fascinated with how everyone is so charismatic. Though all of them are twice my age and they got good at it with experience I would love some insights as to how to make my personality stand out. What hobbies should I pursue? What media do I consume to make myself smarter?(Substack/YT/newsletter/book recs).

Also could you also drop in your reliable media for start up news (deeptech fund). I read Inc42 currently.

Hi everyone,

I was recently pulled over by a state trooper for a routine traffic stop in a state where weed is illegal (it’s decriminalized in the major cities, but I was passing through a small town). Long story short, the stop escalated into what my lawyers say was a completely unconstitutional vehicle search. The cop found a vape cartridge, and now I’m facing a pending felony charge for possession of a controlled substance.

My lawyers are super confident the case is going to get thrown out before it even goes anywhere near a trial, and they think the odds of me even getting probation are incredibly low. Right after I got bailed out, I went to a third-party lab and got an extensive 10-panel drug test done just to have it on record, and it came back completely clean.

Here’s the massive catch: that exact same week, I got news from a major bulge bracket bank that they’re extending a written offer. I accepted, but the onboarding paperwork explicitly asked if I had any pending arrests or accusations. I disclosed it last week, but it was just a baseline disclosure (basically just stating a pending felony) without much room to add color.

Since the job is in an at-will state, the bank has total discretion to rescind the offer if they want to. Most of my anxiety right now is just staring into that "discretion" black hole and waiting to see how corporate HR handles it.

I’m strictly following my lawyers' advice, but I’d honestly love any input, advice, or blunt truth from anyone who has dealt with a similar background check nightmare while a charge was pending. Appreciate any insights you guys have.

Disclosures: I did use AI to clean up my writing.