What are some ways to prepare early for a career in finance?

Question

Currently, I am a sixteen-year-old high school junior enrolled in four AP classes (U.S History, Calculus AB, Biology, and English). My cumulative GPA is around 4.2, so I know that that somewhat sets me apart.

My interest in finance came from a friend who suggested a career as an actuary since I am very good in working with numbers. Hopefully, by the end of my senior year, I will be enrolled in UCLA and its Applied Mathematics program.

I think another reason as to why I am interested in a career in finance is because I don't fully comprehend the field just yet, and there are still tons of concepts to learn and grasp. There is a whole field of unknowns, and I want to work as hard as I can to understand them.

Anyway, I've been doing some research on firms like Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and BlackRock. I realize that the competition to obtain a position in any of these companies and their competitors is very high, and I need to be as prepared as I can, as early as possible.

My questions are:

1. Is UCLA a good enough school to graduate from in order to start a career in those three places as well as other finance firms?

2. What is the difference between an analyst and associate in terms of job responsibilities?

3. How can I further prepare myself during my high school and college years?

Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

1. Yes, that is a very good choice.

2. Not really sure about the difference in terms of job responsibilities, but the titles are generally used to differentiate between the number of years you've worked in the field. One is used for more entry-level type positions (can't remember which one).

3. You really need to be competitive in order to gain the chance of working with these companies. You have made the right choice in terms of a university to attend, because more than likely they send recruiters from their company there. Other things you should do: Keep your college GPA up--they may require a cutoff GPA of 3.3 or 3.5. Also, join clubs and organizations that will benefit you in your career (if the school has a finance club, then join it). Also jump at any opportunities to be on committees that deal with finance (such as one in student government) or run for treasurer positions in a club or two. Just be sure not to overdue it, you'll want to leave enough time for studying and doing other things.

The overall best piece of advice I can give you is try and do 2 or 3 internships during your time in college. Apply for internships at the companies you want to work for after you get your degree b/c a lot of companies hire people who intern with them.

FYI: This advice only applies to your college years b/c companies don't look at high school information when determining whether or not to hire you.

*If you go to http://www.businessweek.com you can find detailed information for top companies such as the ones you have listed about their internship program and entry-level jobs. Some of this information includes things such as the number of applications they receive each year, how many they hire, average salary, vacation days, what majors they hire, etc. It's all very useful information. Look under the Managing section, then click on careers for this information.*

Answer 2

  

   Take a trip to nyc wall street and do interviews and visit the places you mentioned and make calls to do interviews look at hero's  of finances why did they go to school try and track them down i am sure people will help you