Writer => Analyst

stvr2013:

I'm guessing you go to NYU. If so, you'll have the same access to OCR the business students have. You'll just need to network harder at events, study any finance materials you can (the WSO guide is a good start), audit whichever classes you can't register for, keep your GPA way up, and try to stand out when speaking to people in the industry.

You're a sophomore, so you better start pounding the pavement for some relevant experience as soon as possible (i.e. now). If you can do all this, then you shouldn't have any problem finding something decent for junior summer.

Thanks for the advice, stvr2013. Since I just decided to explore finance as a potential career this semester, I've been reaching out to anyone and everyone that I know who works in finance since I returned to school. My GPA is at about a 3.7 right now, and I hope to get it higher by the end of the school year. I know I can't get a summer analyst position for this summer, so I'm networking as much as I can now and hoping that I can get a position at a smaller firm for this summer.

stvr2013:

I'm guessing you go to NYU. If so, you'll have the same access to OCR the business students have. You'll just need to network harder at events, study any finance materials you can (the WSO guide is a good start), audit whichever classes you can't register for, keep your GPA way up, and try to stand out when speaking to people in the industry.

You're a sophomore, so you better start pounding the pavement for some relevant experience as soon as possible (i.e. now). If you can do all this, then you shouldn't have any problem finding something decent for junior summer.

Thanks for the advice, snakeplissken. I thought Econ might be a better fit because of its emphasis on quantitative skills, but Business Studies is definitely an option as well. And yes, I am in Steinhardt. It's too late now to transfer into Stern, but I'm definitely getting my feelers out right now and talking to all kinds of people in the industry to get their perspective.

How prevalent are non-finance majors at recruiting sessions for target schools where there is a business school, but potential analysts not to enroll in the business school? Just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with this.

snakeplissken:

assuming you are at NYU (steinhardt?), i think you should drop the econ minor and get a business studies minor in stern. the requirements are pretty similar to the econ minor, so you'll already be well on your way to completing the minor assuming you've taken macro and micro already.

econ is great for getting interviews, but i think it works better when it's as a major, especially since everyone who is hiring will get tons of stern resumes too. a business studies minor will definitely show some interest (and a little knowledge).

but as the first responder said, youll have the same access to OCR as stern and CAS students.

That's an interesting perspective, TheKing and onebuck. I never thought about business journalism as a career (I kind of wrote off print/media as a career after I've seen the industry take a huge dive) but it could be a good option. But for this summer, at least, I want to explore an internship in finance specifically, as I've already had experience in the editorial world.

onebuck:

Second with what TheKing says, business journalism for the right company is surprisingly good and I've actually seen cases where the pay beats first or second year equity research analysts at BBs this year (yes all-in pay)

Could potentially be easier to break in that way, and once you are in, I've seen journalists exit into finance in higher roles whether directors at ratings agencies, buyside analysts, etc.

Any other questions feel free to PM me.