Significant Career Lesson From an Assistant Vice President at a Fortune 100 Bank
Entry-level positions in investment banking often favor students from target schools like UC Berkeley, UCLA, and USC, with high GPAs and extensive extracurricular involvement, as noted by Assistant Vice President Zach. Alternatively, a more common path involves starting with a phone-based role and working upwards, gaining experience before pivoting to a better position within the industry.
Entry-Level Positions, Networking, Financial Services, Career Progression, Internships
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Zach Bransky
Assistant Vice President
Fortune 100 Bank
University of Arizona
Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey, MBA
Finance
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Finance
Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. High GPA and strong extracurricular activities are beneficial for entry-level positions, especially in investment banking.
2. Starting with entry-level phone-based roles and working your way up is a common path into the industry.
3. Internships, especially those starting in the sophomore year, are valuable for securing better roles after graduation.
Transcript
What entry-level positions in this field might an undergraduate college student consider?
It kind of depends on where you go to school, your GPA, and your extracurriculars. So if you're attending UC schools like UC Santa Barbara or UCLA, those are considered target schools for investment banking.
If you're looking for that kind of role and haven't worked in the field before, from what I've seen with friends who do it, they were often students with a 4.0 GPA. They were presidents of organizations and started internships as early as sophomore year, continuing them throughout college.
A more typical path we see for people who end up in good jobs is starting in an entry-level role. They do that for a couple of years, gain experience, and then pivot into something better, eventually establishing themselves in the industry.