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thegame12
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Quitting finance for tech? How can I make it (lost)? thanks 07 Mar 2018, 07:19
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Hello everyone,

let me introduce myself first. So I am french, 22 yo and I graduated with a 3-year BSc in International Business (according to WES my US GPA is 3.1/4 but I still have to confirm that information). My GPA is low because I was in the military reserve for almost 3 years and I also started my own business at the age of 17 to finance my ug degree (debt free now).

My initial plan was to work in investment banking for few years before to start my business. I did my undergrad in a non-target school and I am currently doing my internship in a small M&A boutique in Pairs. I was planning to ice the GMAT score + leverage that investment bank internship in order to get into a tier-1 MSc in Finance (perhaps schools like UCL, IE, RSM...) and try to be a good in London later on.

Why banking ? Because I am an entrepreneur and I always had a lack of discipline and I wanted to work in M&A for maximum 3 years before to start my own business. I thought (and still belive) that a banking experience is going to bring me credibility to launch my venture and also soft skills such as work ethic.

However, my internship is almost over and I am not happy in that industry. First of all, the work seems to be changeling but at the analyst level it's very boring. Plus, I don't think I can apply what I am learning in the real business world since 90% of my time is spent on either PowerPoint or Excel.

But, I made that decision where I was almost at the end of GMAT Prep, already registered for the TOEFL and few applications open for a MSc in Finance.

I am not ready to start my own business right now since I have no idea and I would like to spend 2 or 3 years to learn CS since I think it's a extremely useful skill. I also went to a coding bootcamp in December and I really enjoyed it.

My problem is : In France you need to hold a undergrad in CS in order to get accepted to a MS in CS. The only one option left is 42 (top coding school in France but coding is different from CS). But I always wanted to moved to the US or Canada.

It seems that it's easier in the US and the UK as a non CS student. I already contacted few universities:
- Northeastern (Align MS in Computer Science) : I don't need any GMAT or GRE score only a TOEFL >100 and a GPA >3. However, they told me it's better if I already took calculus I during my ug. https://align.ccis.northeastern.edu
- UPenn : They don't accept the GMAT, I need the GRE
- NYU : They don't accept the GMAT, I need the GRE
- UCL (UK) : I don't need any GMAT or GRE score only a TOEFL >100 and a GPA >3.5 --> My GPA is too low for that school, I don't know if I can still apply or it's a waste of time?

I have a lot of red flags in my application for any of these schools : mediocre GPA, no quant classes, no GRE score...

I was thinking to quit my internship this week, cancel my GMAT and just study a lot for the GRE. I also had the idea to take few online classes such as calculus, try to get an A and put the transcript in my application.

But right now, I am kind of lost, I don't know where I can apply and what strategy to use. There is only few schools who are offering CS programs for non CS majors...

thanks for reading
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mollad
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Quitting finance for tech? How can I make it (lost)? thanks 07 Mar 2018, 21:52
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You have been through a hard phase. Let's wait for the Experienced Answers. I am too curious to get answers.
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ndewilde
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Location: United States (CA)
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GRE 1: Q165 V165
GPA: 3.94
Schools: Stanford '15 (A)
GRE 1: Q165 V165
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Quitting finance for tech? How can I make it (lost)? thanks 31 May 2018, 18:00
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A lot of former finance people enter tech through a role called growth marketing. In the same way a CFO is responsible for dollars flowing in and out of the company, a growth marketer is responsible for users flowing in and out of a product. There's a bunch of places to read up about it online. There are also some good immersive programs that help you learn the skillset and break into the industry (that don't care about your GMAT score). Between my 1st and 2nd year at GSB I actually spent time at one of them called Tradecraft (where I work now). But you can also use websites like Course Report to find reviews of other ones.

Hope that helps!
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pgs
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Quitting finance for tech? How can I make it (lost)? thanks 02 Jun 2018, 15:10
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I've done investment banking and I've worked in tech (in silicon valley). You don't need to be a programmer to get a job at a tech company. In fact, I know many ex-investment bankers who have gotten jobs at tech startups here in the bay area. People with investment banking backgrounds are highly sought after because they assume:

1) you are hard working
2) you are highly analytical

They say investment banking gives you great exit opportunities, and I agree 100%.

In terms of how you can break into tech from investment banking, there are many roles you could potentially apply for:

1) FP&A (financial planning & analysis) / strategic finance / finance & strategy - different companies call it different things
2) business operations - this is like the internal consulting arm for the company, very in vogue in silicon valley right now
3) growth marketing like another person has mentioned above
4) corporate development / BD - be responsible for M&A and/or partnerships for the company
5) really any business role you want pretty much, you just can't be an engineer and that's about it
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swbluedevil
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GMAT 1: 750 Q50 V40
Schools: Haas '15 (M) Kellogg '15 (A)
GMAT 1: 750 Q50 V40
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Quitting finance for tech? How can I make it (lost)? thanks 14 Jun 2018, 22:26
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Hey thanks for sharing your story and kudos to you for serving in the military and starting at business at age 17 to self-fund your way through college. In many respects, graduating debt-free from college puts you way ahead of the game (especially in the U.S.).

You mention you want to be an entrepreneur, but have you narrowed down what kind of business you want to start (or at the very least what kind of business you don't want to start)?

Also, forgive for missing this in your post, but are you applying to MSc Finance, MBA, or MS CS in programs?

If you're open to feedback, my recommendation would be to think a bit more about the business that you want to start and then either develop the skills you need or hire people with those skills. That may or may not even require grad school!