C R ⋅ Los Angeles, CA ⋅ 20 years experience

Hello Peter,

I am a former Air Force intelligence officer who transitioned into an equity analyst position via a summer internship during a two year MBA program.

My own experience backs up LTR's view about trying to enter the industry via an internship. Large investment houses such as Fidelity, Capital, T. Rowe Price, Wellington, and MFS use these internship programs as one of their main sources of analyst recruitment.

They typically give you a 2-3 month investment project to see what you can do. It is a try-before-you-buy for both the intern and the potential employer. Even if you don't get an offer at the end of the internship, it is still a great experience that looks good on a resume.

Since you are in a masters program now, perhaps you could arrange this kind of internship during the summer months. There are many buy-side and sell-side firms in New York that run summer internship programs, so you are well situated.

Good luck!

Chris

Luke Thomas Redman ⋅ Austin, TX Hospital Internists of Austin ⋅ 7 years experience

Your best chance to get into equity research is through an internship, but if you've already gotten your degrees you probably aren't eligible for most internships (check anyway though). Equity research is somewhat esoteric and it is not just a function but a lifestyle, so an internship is advisable anyway, just to make sure that role is everything you think it will be. Then, three suggested courses of action for you -
1) Find a smaller firm to work at doing equity research to get your foot in the door. Without experience in this area you are unlikely to get any interest from large investment firms. They will mostly focus on campus recruiting and hiring people already doing equity research, at other firms.
2) Contact the career services offices at your alma mater (almae matres). They may have specific programs for graduates to help connect you or at a minimum may be able to get you in touch with a campus recruiter, who can get you connected with the right recruiter for you.
3) My suggestion - troll LinkedIn for graduates from your almae matres working in equity research, or better yet people who historically have worked in equity research, then do informational interviews with them. If the informationals go well they will normally volunteer to help you network your way into an equity research role, or you can ask them.

Hope this helps. Above all know that networking is essential and if you can establish a connection with someone who is in a position to help you, you have done 95% of the hard work. The goal for you at this stage is to get to an interview and learn what you have to do to ace the interview - both can be accomplished via networking.

LTR

John Green ⋅ Cary, NC Information Technology ⋅ 40 years experience

You may like to consider opening your own storefront after securing one or two clients.

Bill Alexander could be a prototype for you to follow.

http://wgalaw.com/

While they are attorneys, their specialty is in elder law, asset protection, and estate planning. You could do the same as a Financial Adviser.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_adviser

Stacey Murphy ⋅ Denville, NJ Beacon Consulting ⋅ 18 years experience

Hi Peter, thank you for your service, and all the best with your transition. You have a lot to offer the business world! I am sure you will receive great suggestions from this post, I don't have contacts in that field but have some suggestions regarding your linked in profile, which I took a look at.
- Use a headline that more clearly defines you, such as: "Former Navy Intelligence Officer/ MBA / MS / Pursuing Securities Analyst Position"
- Your Summary could be tightened to more clearly define the (amazing!) value that you bring, for example, "Former US Navy Intelligence Officer, currently pursuing Investment Analyst Position. Deep expertise in data analytics with ten years of hands on counter intelligence, finance, and geo-political experience. MBA from the University of Cambridge, MS in Finance from Washington University and currently pursuing an MS in technology management from Columbia University (xx, xxx expected graduation). Expertise in public relations and communication.

I'm also wondering if you may be limiting your options by focusing on Equity Analyst (versus other financial analysts, which is why I put securities) as I'm sure there are a wealth of opportunities in the information security field as well as other data analytics fields where you might be able to jump into a leadership role (if so you could highlight your leadership experience also in your profile). Just some thoughts, hope this helps. Feel free to message me if you want to talk through some ideas.

All the best,
Stacey