Finance Jobs for Entry Level Applicants (San Francisco: universities, internships, moving)

[thatguyoverther]

I will be graduating from college next year. I have been contemplating a move to California, preferably the San Francisco area because I have heard that the finance industry or the business industry as a whole does quite well in San Francisco. I of course would be entry level with no experience. I want to be a Financial Analyst. How likely could I find work? Should I even try to relocate to SF or is that a complete waste of time?

[bmw335xi]

It depends on your work experience, internship experience and university. I have a couple friends here that were hired straight out of college, but they worked as bank tellers during college, had one or two financial internships under their belt and graduated from good universities, but not ivy league. My advice, if you have at least two of the above plus enough savings to move back if you can't find work, then go for it! Otherwise, wait until you get some real experience in your resume or try to get a job before moving.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

It depends on your work experience, internship experience and university. I have a couple friends here that were hired straight out of college, but they worked as bank tellers during college, had one or two financial internships under their belt and graduated from good universities, but not ivy league. My advice, if you have at least two of the above plus enough savings to move back if you can't find work, then go for it! Otherwise, wait until you get some real experience in your resume or try to get a job before moving.

That's the only way to do it. Get internships and jobs related to the field while still in college. Then you can pretty much walk into a job after graduation.

[thatguyoverther]

I go to a small college in Western North Carolina called Mars Hill College. It's most likely a college that no one has heard of, nor cares. In Asheville, which is the closest city, all I can say is good luck getting an internship. They're non existent. I have no internships, but I have worked extremely hard in college and my gpa is a 3.6. A 3.6 is at least mediocre I suppose. My degree is Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and Economics. It doesn't sound like I can get a job as an analyst. Should I attempt to pursue something else?

[AngusHsu]

I am in the finance industry in SF. Your GPA is fine. At Wells Fargo, a 3.0 is considered good enough to be a viable candidate.

It really comes down to landing those internships, most likely in Charlotte where Bank of America is headquartered and Wells Fargo has a large presence too. Practice your interviewing skills a lot, way more important than your grades.