In this episode, we learn how Gerard left college early to go pursue a professional hockey career in Europe. Find out how he broke into Columbia almost 5 years later, why he was so behind for finance recruiting and how he got his first break at Citi in equity research, only to jump 5 months later to Point72 as a research analyst.   Listen to hear why he made the jump to a startup called Hivecell and what they are up to now. 

In this episode, Marcellus shares his path as a gas trader for over a decade. Learn how he survived graduating into the great financial crises, how he got his first break, the set up at a large energy company doing prop energy trading and how that was different from a trading house as well as 2 key pieces of wisdom he shares near the end on how to position yourself for a similar career.

In this episode, BankertoConsultant shares his path from a target school in the midwest to a bulge bracket investment banking analyst role in New York. Learn how he was able to make a transition from the FIG group in New York to the Technology group in San Francisco and why he moved back to India for a Strategy and Business Development role a year before applying for top MBAs. Listen to hear the reasons he thinks he was able to get into a top 3 MBA as well as why he chose to go to one of the top consulting firms coming out of school.

In this episode, @monkeydomination015 shares with us his path coming from a non-target university in the south. We learn how he was able to stack internships during his time at university to land himself at Fortress in the real estate arm right out of school. Learn why he decided to go into investment banking at a boutique shop and how he was able to leverage that role to land in corporate development at a large healthcare company. 

In this episode, Kevin shares his rare path of breaking into private equity at a lower middle market fund right after his MBA at Emory after stints in consulting and investment banking. Listen to hear why he took a large pay cut, why he didn't want to go back to being an advisor and how he eventually found himself running investments for a large family office.

In this episode, James shares his non-traditional path from the University of Georgia to working at UBS in investment banking once he graduated. We'll hear about a big risk he took delaying graduation, how he recovered when he was forced to finish his analyst stint early and why he ended up back in IB at Lazard a few years later before finally making the transition to private equity. 

In this episode, we follow Charles on his winding international investment banking career path.  From undergrad at McGill, to working as an IB analyst in New York, to attending HEC for his Masters of Science in Paris to his eventual move to London, we find out why he jumped when he did and how he survived the long hours to find the right firm where the culture was a great fit.

In this episode, we learn about Calvin's path from investment banking at Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP) to corporate development at some of the top technology firms in the world including DropBox and Twitter. Listen to hear how he broke into investment banking out of Berkeley, the big risk he took going into his senior year and what it's really like working on the inside of one of these tech darlings. We talk about pay, lifestyle and some great advice for those of you looking to follow in his footsteps.

In this episode, Jaimi Goodfriend, Head of Point72's Investment Professional Development and director of the Point72 Academy shares her winding path through Wall Street. From starting in M&A when she graduated from Michigan in 1997 to her jump to equity research a few years later, we learn the main reason she decided to pursue a career in finance and how she eventually ended up as a hedge fund analyst working for some of the most successful funds in the world including Balyasny and Citadel.Find out why after 3 years on the buyside she decided to take a massive pay cut and give it all up to become a professor at the University of Illinois and what drew her to Point72. Finally, in the last part of the pod, we discuss the Point72 Academy, what they look for in undergraduate hires and young professionals, the future of the industry as well as the odds of actually breaking in.Key links: Point72 Academy (https://academy.point72.com/​)

In this episode, ConsumerInvestor shares her path from a non-target school to breaking into the equity research group at a bulge bracket bank. We learn how she landed a key sophomore summer internship, why she was so attracted to equity research, and how she eventually made the transition to another bulge bracket bank in order to get into investment banking. Listen to hear how Covid changed everything, what she did with her promotion to associate, and what main tool she used to help her navigate the private equity recruiting process. 

In this episode, member Benioff The Third shares his unlikely path from a non-target school on the east coast to one of the top VC funds on the west coast. We learn how he broke into investment banking at a middle-market shop, why he lateralled to a bulge bracket in tech M&A and eventually why he made the leap to VC. Listen to some great tips on how to position yourself to make a successful transition into venture capital as well as how he got comfortable starting his own business after only one year in VC. 

In this episode, Matt shares his impressive path from UPENN as a biology major to equity research at Morgan Stanley. Learn how he managed to make an internal lateral move in Morgan Stanley's tech IB team, how that opened up the opportunity at Khosla in venture capital and how he approached starting his own business. Finally, learn why Matt ended up back in the corporate world as the HEad of Corp Dev at ServiceNow and why he recently pivoted to the Head of Strategic Finance.

In this episode, Harrison shares why he turned down a full ride to Stanford to play soccer at Indiana University, how he broke into investment banking at JP Morgan and why he transitioned to a smaller middle market firm in Cleveland. Learn how he quickly positioned himself for one of the few coveted private equity spots in Cleveland and how he's already been promoted early twice in his young career.

In this special episode, I give honest advice to a small group of MBAs and MSF students from John Hopkins University that face an uphill battle when trying to apply to front office finance roles. We talk strategy when networking, the future of WSO and I try not to sugar coat anything.

In this episode, John shares his path from a non-target university to his current job in real estate private equity in south Florida. Learn how he was able to land his first internship in M&A, how he managed to transition an internship role into a full-time offer from a family office post-graduation and what he did when he was fired 3 months later. Listen to hear what saved John countless times when his career could have taken a very different turn for the worse.  

In this episode, Omar shares his winding path trying to find his way forward. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, he didn't feel pressure to get a traditional job coming out of school and had experimented with side hustles throughout his time at the University of Toronto. Listen to hear about his networking hack when he was working in dead-end Asset Management and Equity research jobs, why he moved to Calgary and later to upstate New York with no job lined up and what changed to allow him to start to build significant wealth in Texas.

In this episode, we hear about Pierre's improbable story. From growing up with almost nothing to being a first-generation high school and college graduate and earning $30,000 in his first job out of school, to pursuing a master's in organizational psychology and eventually landing at UVA for his MBA at Darden.  We learn how he managed to secure a job at Goldman during the great financial crisis in the Private Wealth Management division, how he navigated feeling like an outsider and why he eventually moved back out west. 

In this episode, TarHeelMonkey shares his path from UNC to BAML. We understand what interested him in finance back when he was in 8th grade, why he didn't get a full-time offer in his first summer and why he ended up transitioning into private equity after 1.5 years in banking. 

In this episode, "Max" shares his path on how he broke into investment banking in London coming from a non-target school in Italy. Learn how networking played a role, how he made the cut during a competitive intern year with an offer rate under 50% and how he was able to close 10 deals in under 4 years once he joined full time. Listen to his struggles with private equity recruiting and how he balanced the difficult process with his full-time banking role to successfully land on his feet  

In this episode, Andy shares his path from NYU Stern to the stressful summer analyst internship recruiting process. We learn how he ended up at UBS, what happened when his group, Power and Utilities got dissolved, his strategic decision to join the energy group, and how he leveraged his time in banking to land a very interesting corporate development & strategy role that allows him to dabble in the public and private markets as well as growth equity and venture. 

In this episode, Dan shares his unlikely path as a history major at a complete non-target college in the midwest. We learn how he was unemployed when he first graduated, how his first job was in the back office, how he managed to break into a business analyst role at a respected boutique investment bank and how he managed the delicate conversations to transition to a front-office IB role at that same bank. Listen to how he navigated private equity recruiting and how one person made a dramatic shift in his thought process and trajectory.

In this episode, Ken Margolis, Partner of Castle Placement walks us through his 30-year finance career. We learn how he quickly moved from Audit at Arthur Anderson back in the 80s to structured finance with Soloman Brothers as his first client, how Credit Suisse (then First Boston) made him an offer he couldn't refuse to jump ship, how he survived multiple crises and layoffs and why he ended up transitioning to Merrill in 1999. Listen to hear about his long successful run there, all of the different groups he worked in, what he liked best and why right before the great financial crisis he decided to leave and set up his own business. 

In this episode, Sarah explains why she ended up at a non-target school, how her 4.0 GPA opened a lot of doors and how she ended up at a bulge bracket investment bank in New York. Learn how she dealt with private equity recruiting and when she realized that she was more interested in growth equity and the VC world. Finally, listen to how she got her big break and was able to make the jump, but only after 3 years in investment banking and an analyst to associate promotion.

In this episode, Jakub shares his winding path going to university in Prague and leveraging multiple internships including at KPMG and Accenture to get important experience. Learn why he went to Seoul, how he landed a full time offer at an investment bank in Vienna, why he transitioned to Munich and some sacrifices he made along the way for family.

In this episode, MilitaryMonkey shares his winding path from West Point to serving in the army for over 5 years. Hear what happened on his birthday when he was stationed in Afghanistan, when he thought an MBA might be a good idea and how he broke into a top bulge bracket bank as an associate with no previous technical background. Also, pay special attention to how he approached his role as a post-MBA associate in IB to be successful.