I know there's plenty of knowledgeable people on this topic on this board so I thought I'd look for some advice here since I don't know too much about it. My son is a sophomore finance major in the Rutgers Business School with a solid GPA (almost a 3.6), he's in the honors program, and he's got a few solid leadership/extra curricular activities. However he really doesn't know what he wants to do in the financial industry, and he also has no idea what he wants to do as far as internships for this summer - he's just planning to apply to all the big ones in New York (he mentioned Goldman, BNY Mellon, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays) and see what happens. He also said J&J has a summer financial internship in New Brunswick which would be convenient, and Black Rock in Princeton as well. Anyone have any insight into any of those places or other good internships he should be looking into? I feel like he could wait a year before going into the city for one but whatever insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated. We live in Bridgewater, by the way. Thanks in advance.
Big OT: Need some help from those who know the financial industry
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“If you don't know where you are going any road can take you there”
Seriously - for the summer before your junior year, any of those high quality experiences will build his base of experience - he may learn what he likes, he may learn what he does not like.... the the top quality organization name on his resume will provide him with a bit of validation - and none of them would do him a disservice . In any one of those he could make connections that would set him up for the rest of his career ... or just teach him how to do a professional job of working through stuff that is only mildly appealing.
Seriously - for the summer before your junior year, any of those high quality experiences will build his base of experience - he may learn what he likes, he may learn what he does not like.... the the top quality organization name on his resume will provide him with a bit of validation - and none of them would do him a disservice . In any one of those he could make connections that would set him up for the rest of his career ... or just teach him how to do a professional job of working through stuff that is only mildly appealing.
If Goldman offers him, he should take it. Gets that name on his resume going forward. As a finance major, he is highly likely to end up working in NYC so may as well get started there this summer if invited. Better to work for a big name than work for a small firm locally, in my humble opinion. Hopefully he is getting guidance from RU about what opportunities are realistic.
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I graduated RU in 2001, so take my perspective with a grain of salt, with that said, here goes.
My roommate and I both got front office jobs at large investment banks (Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank) coming out of RU Business School. We both took back office internships at large banks the summer after sophomore year as it allowed us to network wth HR at these big banks to set ourselves up for Junior year summer. You have to do everything you can to get set up for a great internship for junior year summer because without a great internship you are behind the eight ball when looking to land a full time gig.
Many RU business students go the JnJ route, it's a good option but you have to make sure you can make the cross-over to a bank at some point (provided that is what your son wants to do). There are some good jobs banking jobs via RU career services, but not enough are front office so the more he can do to position himself without relying on the school the better.
Good luck, I hope the above was helpful.
My roommate and I both got front office jobs at large investment banks (Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank) coming out of RU Business School. We both took back office internships at large banks the summer after sophomore year as it allowed us to network wth HR at these big banks to set ourselves up for Junior year summer. You have to do everything you can to get set up for a great internship for junior year summer because without a great internship you are behind the eight ball when looking to land a full time gig.
Many RU business students go the JnJ route, it's a good option but you have to make sure you can make the cross-over to a bank at some point (provided that is what your son wants to do). There are some good jobs banking jobs via RU career services, but not enough are front office so the more he can do to position himself without relying on the school the better.
Good luck, I hope the above was helpful.
Finance can be very broad. Working in the finance dept of JnJ is very different from being an Investment Banker at a big financial services company.
I am aware of 1 large insurance company that has relocated a lot of US based finance and accounting jobs to India where resources are cheaper. Your son should be aware of this when evaluating companies since there are quite a few that have done this.
I am aware of 1 large insurance company that has relocated a lot of US based finance and accounting jobs to India where resources are cheaper. Your son should be aware of this when evaluating companies since there are quite a few that have done this.
I work at top tier IB, internship interviews were started in December, final cuts for rising juniors is taking place now. We would not look at Sophmores. IB interns are mostly from top tier schools, and GPA as close to 4.0 if not 4.0. In my area which is support we have turned away 4.0 NYU students.
Use Sophomore Summer to do volunteer work or something in the burbs if you want a chance at a big IB, Look to do as many extra-curriculars as possible to help fill the resume.
Use Sophomore Summer to do volunteer work or something in the burbs if you want a chance at a big IB, Look to do as many extra-curriculars as possible to help fill the resume.
Tell him to get out now & go into engineering. Make something with his life before he's in too deep.
In all seriousness, JNJ & Blackrock are two different flavors: one's corporate finance & one's financial services. Kind of have to sample both to see which one he prefers.
In all seriousness, JNJ & Blackrock are two different flavors: one's corporate finance & one's financial services. Kind of have to sample both to see which one he prefers.
As a sophomore it will be very difficult to land an internship at any of the nyc companies that you mentioned. (as someone else has said). There is a huge difference in all of the financial companies you mention...Goldman is to BNY Mellon as an apple is to an orange. If he is intent on a career at an IB, he'll have to go to grad school. There are many different type of jobs in finance and your son needs to start to narrow down his "likes" over the next couple of years. He doesn't need to know exactly what he wants yet, but clearly he needs to think about whether he wants "sales" (where the money is), investment banking (where an MBA is a must) or research, or trading (where departments are getting smaller) I think a good local choice is Blackrock (over J&J) because he will get a good understanding of the different type of financial jobs and that experience will translate to the New York firms better than J&J.
Before I worked for a Wall Street outfit in HR I did not know what Financial Engineers were. Out of the industry for a while but I'd assume anybody with a background in finance combined with the ability to code and program must still be in demand. All the trading has gone automated, algorithmic, systematic, and quantitative. While Goldman Sachs is still a big deal many of the jobs are in hedge funds and private equity outfits that are not even on the radar of the general public.
I am a finance major from RU School of Business however it has been longer than I like to admit (20+ years). As some have mentioned the Big NYC firms would not likely hirer a soph. I personally decided I did not want to go the NYC route at all and parlayed my finance degree in financial management in the private sector. I would intern at Black Rock and see if it is something that appeals to him. I ended up in Hospitality and now run hotel financials as well as being involved in a number of startups as a consultant and partial owner for various businesses. You have to see what appeals to you because the initial jobs can be very boring and draining. Takes a special mind set to survive the drone mentality that you have to have when you start out. JMHO
BTW...Blackrock Investment Management LLC, in Princeton, is the worlds largest asset manager. If your son has a choice, an internship/job with the asset management area (as opposed to the operations area) would expose him to the exciting side of the business, i.e. money management.
As others have said, "finance" is a very broad term. Since your son does not really know what he wants to pursue and you are unfamiliar with the career options he really should sit down for some face-to-face conversations with people who can help him. There's far too much to consider to do it justice on a message board. If you have no contacts to ask, he should approach one of his professors for a start and I'm sure he'll be pointed to people in the industry who will be happy to help him.
I am on year 15 at two of the premiere investment banks in sales and trading. Equity and Fixed Income
MozRu@ymail.com
I'll give you the low down. Give me a few days. Jamming.
MozRu@ymail.com
I'll give you the low down. Give me a few days. Jamming.
Since he is not likely to get an internship in IB as a So. I would recommend looking for something at an early stage startup in NYC. They will be very open to taking on a So. intern. The advantage is that he will be given REAL work and the opportunity to take on responsibilities that he would never get at a big company. He will likely come away with actual accomplishments that will help him stand out down the road, whether applying for an internship the following year or later when looking for a real job. Plus, he may even be able to stay on after the summer is over if he is good and can free up some hours from his school schedule, possibly even working remotely.
The biggest downside is that there likely won't be a very structured program so it is important that he can be self-motivated and be able to perform without a lot of hand holding. He should just make sure that they have a specific role in mind for him because some startups can be poorly run and without a defined role and a lack oversight he could end up not doing anything meaningful, which is a waste of his time. But as long as he does his due diligence he should be fine.
The biggest downside is that there likely won't be a very structured program so it is important that he can be self-motivated and be able to perform without a lot of hand holding. He should just make sure that they have a specific role in mind for him because some startups can be poorly run and without a defined role and a lack oversight he could end up not doing anything meaningful, which is a waste of his time. But as long as he does his due diligence he should be fine.
The only addition I have is to have him consider the top consulting firms. He will have a learning experience that he won't get anywhere and develop the best skills. There is a tendency to get pigeon-holed in a big bank doing one thing and then when the banks lay off a ton of people it can be hard to place elsewhere. I would look into McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Booz Allen, PwC, Deloitte.
If he wants to go IB he needs to seek out Prof. Ben Soprenzeti. He is largely responsible for RU's undergrad push into the white shoe IBs. Make sure he is prepared for that meeting. Soprenzenti will help anyone but doesn't suffer fools or the unprepared very well.
He has zero chance of landing an IB internship as a soph. He should take a corp finance internship with a blue chip company in a sector he likes--pharma, tech (lots of tech action in NYC), retail (pay will be crappy compared to the others) or FinTech (Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters) or FinServ. OR...
As also mentioned, something in one of the consulting firms may be possible--but the elite firms are probably already into their selection process (McKinsey, Bain, BCG). One of the Big 4 firms is still a possibility (Deloitte, PWC, E&Y and KPMG). These firms have Financial Advisory practices, which can relate to Investment Banking (though Investment Bankers and their fragile egos and little dicks will tell you that Big 4 Advisory and IB advisory are not in the same stratosphere). Big 4 advisory will give him a test of the work cycle and what it feels like to be on a deal. An internship for a rising junior will largely be the same in either environment--errand boy, working as a first year's bitch on pitch books, etc. But it is great for the resume and the pay and perks will be better than something in a corp finance department.
Lastly, as a general trend, the best and brightest of top tier undergrad and MBA business schools are shifting away from Wall Street. Those people are looking for tech (Google, Apple, Tesla, Facebook) and/or start-ups. Wall Street will always attract talent, but the real difference makers don't want to sit behind a desk at Goldman anymore.
having just gone through the recruiting process out of an MBA program, if I could offer you one piece of advice for him, I would tell you to convince him to learn how to code during his last two years. It will pay him back many times over even if he never writes a line of code in his professional life. The ability to communicate with the geeks is a huge differentiator in the current environment. Additionally, it is practically expected for every position at one of the tech companies--whether your job requires it or not.
He has zero chance of landing an IB internship as a soph. He should take a corp finance internship with a blue chip company in a sector he likes--pharma, tech (lots of tech action in NYC), retail (pay will be crappy compared to the others) or FinTech (Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters) or FinServ. OR...
As also mentioned, something in one of the consulting firms may be possible--but the elite firms are probably already into their selection process (McKinsey, Bain, BCG). One of the Big 4 firms is still a possibility (Deloitte, PWC, E&Y and KPMG). These firms have Financial Advisory practices, which can relate to Investment Banking (though Investment Bankers and their fragile egos and little dicks will tell you that Big 4 Advisory and IB advisory are not in the same stratosphere). Big 4 advisory will give him a test of the work cycle and what it feels like to be on a deal. An internship for a rising junior will largely be the same in either environment--errand boy, working as a first year's bitch on pitch books, etc. But it is great for the resume and the pay and perks will be better than something in a corp finance department.
Lastly, as a general trend, the best and brightest of top tier undergrad and MBA business schools are shifting away from Wall Street. Those people are looking for tech (Google, Apple, Tesla, Facebook) and/or start-ups. Wall Street will always attract talent, but the real difference makers don't want to sit behind a desk at Goldman anymore.
having just gone through the recruiting process out of an MBA program, if I could offer you one piece of advice for him, I would tell you to convince him to learn how to code during his last two years. It will pay him back many times over even if he never writes a line of code in his professional life. The ability to communicate with the geeks is a huge differentiator in the current environment. Additionally, it is practically expected for every position at one of the tech companies--whether your job requires it or not.
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What this guy said.
(I especially like the first paragraph. I'd like this professor. I love college kids who talk to me about wanting a front office job yet haven't pick up a WSJ ever, never have CNBC in the background, just really haven't done anything besides go to class and keg parties. This is a lifestyle son, not a job.)
You have Dow Jones right off Rt.1 in Princeton, you also have a large former Merrill-Lynch Campus near Princeton, now Bank of America. JPMC has facilities for IT in Edison not sure if they have any IB branches there.
Not sure what an IB branch would be? Branches are retail locations for customer transactions. In this case I assume that your son wants to be involved in investment banking which involves the underwriting and structuring of debt ( securities & loans) as equity as equities in the primary markets.
There is also a research group at Dow Jones which is currently run by a RU grad.
Buy him a LinkedIn Premium membership so he can stalk anonymously.
Do keyword search combinations on "RU & insert name of firm here" and look for potential people to target.
He should then research those people and find sort of commonalities beyond just RU--fraternities, volunteer causes. Send the person a cold e-mail or a phone call and tell them he is interested in whatever it is they do and wants to schedule an informational interview with them--offer to buy them a cup of coffee or a beer after work if he is old enough. And begin to develop a relationship. Don't approach the initial meeting as trying to "get a job." Approach it as an exercise in building a relationship and ultimately a network. He might find someone who is receptive from the first email or he may not. He can't give up. Follow up, but don't be annoying. If 2 emails go unanswered, move on. But people love to talk about themselves and also like to help young people. Leverage that. he should always be working to build the network, but in a way that doesn't scream he wants something from someone. People know the deal and aren't stupid. But there is a subtle art to walking the line. The sooner he learns it, the better.
Buy him a LinkedIn Premium membership so he can stalk anonymously.
Do keyword search combinations on "RU & insert name of firm here" and look for potential people to target.
He should then research those people and find sort of commonalities beyond just RU--fraternities, volunteer causes. Send the person a cold e-mail or a phone call and tell them he is interested in whatever it is they do and wants to schedule an informational interview with them--offer to buy them a cup of coffee or a beer after work if he is old enough. And begin to develop a relationship. Don't approach the initial meeting as trying to "get a job." Approach it as an exercise in building a relationship and ultimately a network. He might find someone who is receptive from the first email or he may not. He can't give up. Follow up, but don't be annoying. If 2 emails go unanswered, move on. But people love to talk about themselves and also like to help young people. Leverage that. he should always be working to build the network, but in a way that doesn't scream he wants something from someone. People know the deal and aren't stupid. But there is a subtle art to walking the line. The sooner he learns it, the better.
What I meant to say is I don't know if BOAML out of Princeton, very large campus btw, has any Investment Banking groups there, I deal with technology and have met many executives on that side of their business not the Finance side, they may be more in NY or Jersey City. I know many firms have located to Jersey City, not sure if that's an option for your son.
daughter just graduated from Rutgers Business school - and has been successful with internships. Landed a job with Prudential working with hedge funds.
Big financial firms offering internships - looks great on a resume and infers you can work in a big company. Stay away from the lesser firms offering training as financial advisor (read AXA) - they are merely looking for lead generation - names of family and friends as potential clients.
If you r son goes the CPA route - good investment of hard work time first 4-5 years -then very employable in corporate finance or risk management.
Big financial firms offering internships - looks great on a resume and infers you can work in a big company. Stay away from the lesser firms offering training as financial advisor (read AXA) - they are merely looking for lead generation - names of family and friends as potential clients.
If you r son goes the CPA route - good investment of hard work time first 4-5 years -then very employable in corporate finance or risk management.
In most instances, the city will pay more than J&J. If he can get a city Internship especially with a Big Bank, goto the city. Make sure every date is 100% accurate on his resume regarding any prior jobs he had, as they check that. Get a resume critique from Rutgers Career Services. Ask for a position description because
Also whats important is the scope of his responsibility.
I interned with United Jersey Bank, which later helped me land my very first job with Prudential.
Also whats important is the scope of his responsibility.
I interned with United Jersey Bank, which later helped me land my very first job with Prudential.
The reality of this kid's situation is he is not going to sniff a white shoe internship with a 3.6 from RU without a personal connection to someone at the bank.
Taking this recommendation one step further, he needs to be Excel proficient using the keyboard, not the mouse. If you are fumbling around with the mouse, looking for functions that have keyboard commands, the associate at the bank you are working for is going to throw you at the nearest window.
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