For sixth formers, it’s almost impossible to get finance or investing work experience. If you manage to find the right work experience, apply at the right time AND get accepted, you are doing incredibly well. You might also know someone who knows someone, and get a few days looking over the senior bankers’ shoulder.
Let’s be clear. These are not experiences. In most instances, formal work ‘experience’ is two or three days of insights and information. Post covid, most of these sessions have moved online which means you don’t even get to experience what it feels like to wake up, get dressed, and commute to the office.
These programmes can be really useful. They provide you with lots of information about different roles in finance, provide insight from employees who are a few years out of university and, crucially, give you something to talk about on your personal statement!
It can also be useful to get a few days shadowing a friend of a friend, who knows someone who works in investing or finance. These experiences give you a better insight into the day-to-day realities of working in finance. If you are lucky, you might even be given a research task.
However, these experiences are only available to well-connected students and preclude those whose parents or family friends aren’t in the finance industry.
The problem with these types of ‘experience’ is that you don’t really get to try your hand at various roles in finance. You will only get so much from shadowing a senior banker, trying desperately to keep up with all the finance jargon flying round the office. Too often, formal work experience programmes are simply a marketing tool to get young people to join their bank after they’ve graduated.
We think that there is another way. Finance and investing work experience should provide you with hands-on experience of a wide range of roles in finance and investing. We believe in learning by doing, and are convinced that you are only going to figure out if you are interested in a particular career by actually doing the job.
The finance and investing industry is incredibly complicated, and there are so many different career paths available to you. The best way to find out if a particular area of finance is suitable is to try it – you might realise that you absolutely hate Mergers and Acquisitions, but really like Equity Research. You might have thought that you would love to be a trader but then, after experiencing a real-world trading simulation, you decide that you prefer another area of finance.
The best thing about learning by doing is that it is really fun – less sitting on a never ending zoom call, and more getting your hands dirty!
For sixth formers, it’s almost impossible to get finance or investing work experience. If you manage to find the right work experience, apply at the right time AND get accepted, you are doing incredibly well. You might also know someone who knows someone, and get a few days looking over the senior bankers’ shoulder.
Let’s be clear. These are not experiences. In most instances, formal work ‘experience’ is two or three days of insights and information. Post covid, most of these sessions have moved online which means you don’t even get to experience what it feels like to wake up, get dressed, and commute to the office.
These programmes can be really useful. They provide you with lots of information about different roles in finance, provide insight from employees who are a few years out of university and, crucially, give you something to talk about on your personal statement!
It can also be useful to get a few days shadowing a friend of a friend, who knows someone who works in investing or finance. These experiences give you a better insight into the day-to-day realities of working in finance. If you are lucky, you might even be given a research task.
However, these experiences are only available to well-connected students and preclude those whose parents or family friends aren’t in the finance industry.
The problem with these types of ‘experience’ is that you don’t really get to try your hand at various roles in finance. You will only get so much from shadowing a senior banker, trying desperately to keep up with all the finance jargon flying round the office. Too often, formal work experience programmes are simply a marketing tool to get young people to join their bank after they’ve graduated.
We think that there is another way. Finance and investing work experience should provide you with hands-on experience of a wide range of roles in finance and investing. We believe in learning by doing, and are convinced that you are only going to figure out if you are interested in a particular career by actually doing the job.
The finance and investing industry is incredibly complicated, and there are so many different career paths available to you. The best way to find out if a particular area of finance is suitable is to try it – you might realise that you absolutely hate Mergers and Acquisitions, but really like Equity Research. You might have thought that you would love to be a trader but then, after experiencing a real-world trading simulation, you decide that you prefer another area of finance.
The best thing about learning by doing is that it is really fun – less sitting on a never ending zoom call, and more getting your hands dirty!
Stephen Barnett Head of Schools
Stephen Barnett Head of Schools
+44 (0) 203 372 8415
info@amplifyme.com
