Of course, FO is only for the cream of the crop. Networking is a huge driver as well. It'll help you a lot in breaking into FO but it's not a strict pre-requisite per say. You need to have strong interest in finance demostrated through finance internships of course but you don't need a rich daddy to get you in.

Having multiple cca, multiple case competitions wins or finals, multiple internships, good honors are pre-requisities. Lack any one of these and you sure the hell won't be getting into FO. Bonus points for overseas internships or exchanges. These are qualities that local uni grads have in abundance. Trying to find a local biz grad especially finance grads without every one of these criteria is as good as finding a needle in the haystack. Private grads on the other hand..

Clearly someone who has a grudge. I know what you are saying is untrue because this is my lived reality. Won over the book smart, street stupid local uni grads with my portfolio and internship achievements.

And I am not the only one. Simply stop being blind and you will see many examples on LinkedIn. We will never win street smart local uni grads, they are the cream of the crop. But they are also exceedingly rare. Most local uni grads are immature jokers that don't know how to think for themselves, like you.

Clearly someone who has a grudge. I know what you are saying is untrue because this is my lived reality. Won over the book stupid, street smart private uni grads with my portfolio and internship achievements.

And I am not the only one. Simply stop being blind and you will see many examples on LinkedIn. Private uni grads will never win book smart local uni grads, they are not the cream of the crop. They are also exceedingly abundant. Most private uni grads are immature jokers that don't know how to think for themselves, like you.

Talent and hard work trumps plus a little luck and knowing the right people goes a long way. I was from ntu and I agree with this. Private or local, many grads don’t have the right attitude

Precisely. My private uni self coexists with those local grads who are competent as well, we are all in FO. All in all, if you have a good head on your shoulders, you will definitely go far.

Truth be told, I'm a private degree holder who worked couple years in ops, before an MM gave me a shot in markets. I left as an AVP in ops, to become an analyst (still made sense monetarily). And this 70% is not through jumping ship, I am still with MM.

I can guarantee you that the average local uni grad has more internship achievements and a more stacked portfolio than the average private uni grad.

Oh i see, that explains the phenomenal jump. I'd still say that you have done extremely well and there is like a maximum of 0.1% of someone from BO jumping to FO.

Do people even care about your degree once you have the necessary experience?

You can go on to take a Masters/Phd, get a CFA Chartedholder, network with the correct people, then your bachelor's degree pretty much becomes irrelevant.

Do you even work in this field? If we are talking IB, the best way is to get the combination of good results and non academic portfolio to enter at analyst, or do an mba at a top school to enter at associate.

Why would IBs consider someone with non relevant experience or credentials? They have their pick of top candidates who are better, hungrier and younger with higher potential.