I'm about to finish my master's at the same ivy as my undergrad in the same engineering field. My undergrad gpa was around a 3.35 so I pretty much got shut out of all the bulge bracket positions a year ago. My master's GPA is around a 3.6. I do have some finance internship experience under my belt although its not in banking. I'm waiting to hear back from one bank at the end of the month, but if I don't get it, I'm back to square one. I'm primarily applying ot NY/NJ positions but I'm also applying international like Hong Kong/Singapore. I'm really bummed out. Any advice?
You say you have a bachelor's and master's in engineering but are having a hard time finding a job in banking?
Give it some time homie. I know it sucks, but you just have to be patient. A lot of my engineering buddies from UT that just graduated with me in December are still looking for a job. It's really a sucky market so make sure you contact all your networks and see if they can help you out (that's how I got my job).
My undergrad major was very quantitative with math, comp sci, econ, and finance. So it's not the kind of engineering you are thinking of, but more along the lines of financial engineering, which falls under the same department of my major, so the two are fairly close.
You're not going to get an ex-pat job right out of school. Why pay US prices when you can pay a local person who studied in the US with the same degree one fifth the salary? For example, my company pays fresh engineer grads in Malaysia around 10K a year and many of these guys studied in the US and graduated with high GPA's. Hong Kong and Singapore salaries are slightly higher which is why we don't hire engineers there. We bring them in from cheaper regions like China and Malaysia when we need them.
Well I got a job bro in engineering, it took me almost 5 months, but I got one. While I didn't have a job I just chilled with my grandma and played video games. I was able to get a job in February as an "hourly lecturer" at a high school. It payed me pretty much the same as a starting teacher but with no benefits. All I can advice is reach out to your networks, work on perfecting your resume and cover letters, and don't lose hope, keep that confidence high.
Wow, my undergrad GPA was lower than yours (though my graduate GPA was higher), and my majors were not quant ones either, yet I got several offers from various firms in the NYC area including a couple bulge brackets. I went to a state school too, so I'm shocked at how dismal the job market has become for people with solid numbers like you. How things can change in 6 years... I shouldn't be surprised given the ongoing financial crisis, but it's easy to live in a bubble now and then, and not realize how bad things are.
Did you just recently get the offers? The job market was absolutely terrible the last 2 years. 2 summers ago, it was damn hard to get a summer analyst position with the financial crisis, and it didn't help that my gpa was below the 3.5 threshold needed to get past screening. It would be devestating if I had to wait until fall for the next recruiting season.
Jobs are all about connections, not GPA or internships or all that other bullcrap universities looking for your money and companies looking for free labor, respectively, tell you.
I would love to work in Houston because the living expenses are much cheaper and you pay no state taxes. But moving there with no offer at hand is tough, and there's no guarantee I'd be able to get a job after moving.
A lot. I've sent probably about 50 applications, probably more since the start of the year. All the bulge brackets, international banks, and botiques. I'm applying for any job postings that come along through all the major job search websites and my university career center site.
I can tell you this isn't true at least from my experiences. If you have 3.7+ gpa you will have a better chance getting an interview with these quant places. It doesn't matter who you know if you aren't very good at math. They test you pretty well. Maybe a sales position you can get through connections, but even then you better make your quota. I got some folks throw me some opportunities from my previous contacts, but they weren't cream of the crop jobs.
