How to make it when you're not the typical WASP?

maxcanada
Fri, 25 May 2007 09:09:07 +0000

Hello,

I was born in Belgium but then grew up in Canada. For sentimental reasons, I decided to move back in order to study in one of my native country’s top universities, where I am now a happy undergrad business and engineering student.

However, my top belgian school still belongs to the second tier worldwide. Not for the quality of the curricula, but because the administration is slow, lump and won’t spend money on career advisers.

Now I’m starting to think about my career. I’d like to make it into investment banking (how picturesque). Here are my strengths:


I’m bright. I’m always in the top 10%, especially in “hard” subjects such as maths and physics. I’m not afraid of numbers.
I’m business-oriented. I’m still 20 and already run a small business with $300K revenue along with some friends. I’m also a consultant for several not-for-profit with total revenue of around $1M. I’m at ease with money.
I’m a natural leader. I love to speak in front of 500 people. I easily get people round my point of view. And they vote for me.
I’m mobile. I had lived on my own in 5 countries before I hit 20. I speak three languages.
I’m a team player. I played soccer at a national level in my teenage years.


Here are my weaknesses:


My school is not in the top 10 and they won’t be a great help. It’s going to be hard if I want to get into a top program afterwards.
Daddy doesn’t work for a big corporation. He can’t pull strings for me.
I’m cultivated. I used to study (french) literature and play piano. But I’m not a WASP. I’m from a left-leaning so-called “Old Europe” family. I read “1984” when I was 19, not 15 ; I don’t know what “Lord of the Flies” is about. Maybe a finance recruiter would rather hire a neat Ivy-league grad , since they may have more in common (the problem is asymmetric information, isn’t it?).


I won’t undertake to do a master’s at my school after my BS, it’s a daunting prospect. Do you think it is possible to be hired by a top firm straight after graduation (with a nice internship on my resume)?

Or should I pursue something like a quantitative/finance MSc at a top institution? If so, what are the odds?

So what do you advice?

Many thanks,
Max