Finance, Hedge Funds, Real Estate, Private Equity, Venture Capital

Within the field of finance, you can choose to work as part of the “corporate finance staff” of an organization or a company that provides “financial services” to individuals, groups, institutions, or organizations. Some functions or industry sectors most commonly associated with finance include Commercial Banking, Corporate Finance, Financial Planning, Insurance, Investment Banking, Investment Management, and Quantitative Trading.

Finding Internships

The Wall Street investment banks have large junior internship programs and hire for full-time largely from their summer internship class. These internships are competitive, as both students and employers hope that the junior internship results in a full-time job. They look for high achievement and a demonstrated interest in finance and financial markets, which can be established through coursework, involvement in student organizations, participation in employer-led networking and educational events, as well as previous internship or externship experience in the broadly defined realm of financial services. Other types of financial institutions, asset management firms, hedge funds, trading firms, private equity, and venture capital firms may also have summer internships.

Finding Jobs

Many firms have increasingly focused on converting their summer interns into full-time hires. However, there are still positions available beyond the class of summer interns. It is particularly important that you make every effort to meet and get to know (and be known by) as many people in the field as you can.

Graduate and Professional Programs

Graduate school is not required to work in finance. However, financial services firms often hire from MBA programs, as well as master’s of finance and master’s of accounting programs.

My Favorite Books About Finance

By Matthew Andrews ’25 (MCS PAF)

Whether you’re an aspiring investor, or simply someone curious about the inner workings of markets, the right book can provide invaluable insights and inspiration. From the cutthroat trading floors of Wall Street to the …

By Guest or External Blog
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Quantifying Quants: Exploring Fintech and Financial Tech Career Pathways

The world of quantitative finance can feel enigmatic, yet it’s a rapidly growing field that combines math, technology, and finance to make significant impacts on the markets. To demystify this career path, MCS recently hosted a career exploration panel with …

By Meaghan Shea
Meaghan Shea Assistant Director, Technology, Data Analytics, Life & Physical Sciences & Entrepreneurship
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On Landing an Internship in Finance as an International Student

Interstride is an interactive career platform designed to enhance the career exploration and job-search experience for international students. Learn about landing a finance internship and check out other helpful resources!

“Vania Chow is an undergraduate international student at Stanford University …

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Featured Resources

Leadership Development and Rotational Programs

Below is a sample of the organizations that have structured leadership development programs. These entry-level programs often allow employees to …

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Firsthand Vault Guides

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GRADUATE SPOTLIGHTS

Kevin Meli PhD ’25

  • New York, NY
  • Equity Research Associate Royal Bank of Canada
Meet Kevin

Nicole Chen ’25

  • New York, NY
  • Software Engineer Stripe
Meet Nicole

Kenneth Haas ALM, Management ’25

  • Director of Capital Markets and Investor Relations Horizontal Land Partners
Meet Kenneth

Marc Heissan ALM, Sustainability ’25

  • Darien, CT
  • Managing Partner Scope 4, LP
Meet Marc

Abrar Khan ALB ’25

  • Toronto
  • CFO JSS Wealth Inc.
Meet Abrar

Yash Nahar ALM, Data Science ’25

  • Pune, India
  • Chapter Lead & Data Scientist UBS
Meet Yash

Iain Nelson ALM, Finance ’25

  • Richmond, VA
  • Director, Technology Consulting AlixPartners, LLP
Meet Iain

Rita Nguyen ALM, Finance ’25

  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Senior Financial Analyst Sony Pictures Entertainment
Meet Rita

Nina Plaushin ALM, Museum Studies ’25

  • Washington, D.C.
  • Nonprofit Museum work
Meet Nina

Ahmed Riesgo ALM, Anthropology and Archaeology ’25

  • Miami, Florida
  • Chief Investment Officer Insigneo
Meet Ahmed

Juan Rosales de la Garza ALM, Finance ’25

  • Denver, CO
  • Senior Investment Officer CEDS Finance
Meet Juan

Komal Shafique ALM, Finance ’25

  • New Jersey
  • Sr. Finance Analyst TD Bank
Meet Komal

Aniket Shroff ALM, Information Management Systems ’25

  • Dubai
  • Managing Director Niti Group of Companies
Meet Aniket

Richard Stout ALM, International Relations ’25

  • Head of Equity Capital Markets, South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa Standard Bank
Meet Richard

Sasha Agarwal ’25

  • New York, NY
  • Private Equity Analyst Silver Lake
Meet Sasha

Alex Bernat ’25

  • New York, NY
  • Investment Associate Bridgewater Associates
Meet Alex

Dhwani Garg ’25

  • San Francisco, CA
  • Research Analyst Sutter Hill Ventures
Meet Dhwani

Lal Kablan ’25

  • New York, NY
  • Equity Analyst Goldman Sachs
Meet Lal

Lisa Mathew ’25

  • New York, NY
  • Analyst BNP Paribas
Meet Lisa

Xuanthe Nguyen ’25

  • Master's Student, Mathematical and Computational Finance University of Oxford
Meet Xuanthe
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The Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS) is committed to ensuring access to a broad range of information and opportunities across all sectors. Our website contains external content that may be useful to our learners. The inclusion of external content does not necessarily constitute endorsement, recommendation, or agreement with the information.

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