Firstly, feel free to write off any of the drivel I spurt
out here as rubbish - this will be coming from my own personal experiences, and
I know everyone is different. So today I'm going to try and give some advice
into how to spend your first year studying economics at university to set
yourself up for the future. I started my first year fairly clueless about how
to move forward and help myself pursue a career in finance - so I contacted a
third year friend who has tied down a graduate job at an investment bank. I took
that advice on board and used it to steer me in the correct direction. I feel
if I had known what I do now before even starting my degree I'd be better
placed, but that's life and the benefit of hindsight. I'm going to go through
three main points: studying, interning and 'other stuff'.
So, firstly, the studying. A lot of the people you meet
at university will tell you "it's only first year, it doesn't count".
Ok, yes, that is partly true. At most universities what you achieve in your
first year has no effect on your final degree classification. Most will have it
in their heads that they only need to achieve the bare minimum to pass, 40%, anymore
would be wasted efforts. I disagree totally with this. When you get into your
second year and things get serious, the only thing anyone has to go on
regarding your academic ability is your first year grade. So they may see a 42%
average and get the wrong impression, you could be the smartest guy alive.
However, try hard in your first year and achieving a good grade isn't that
difficult. Put the effort in and reap the rewards. A solid 2:1 in your first
year is a great way to start your degree, it shuts no doors in your face - and
in fact opens a lot. My first piece of advice for your first year studying
economics would be to take it seriously, aim for a decent grade.
My second point is interning. This is the information I
could really have used before I started my degree - but I was lazy and didn't
put the effort into researching. My fault entirely. The bottom line is, if you
want to enter the finance sector after completing your degree you need some
experience under your belt. The best way to get this experience is to intern.
Internships are commonly done during the Summer of your penultimate year, but
you can get a head start. Many firms offer what is known as a 'Spring Week'
during first year. This is essentially, as the name suggests, a week during
Spring spent at the firm learning the ropes and getting an insight into the
operations undertaken there. It can lead to a fast track to a second year
Summer internship, which is fantastic. These aren't a necessity though, I never
got a Spring week because I started applying too late, but they sure will help.
Applying early is my advice. Applications for some firms can open as early as
August, and as they recruit on a rolling basis getting in there early is the
best bet. I applied in late December/early January and didn't even get a look
in.
My third point is do 'stuff'. Ambiguous, I know, but you
need to get out there and do as much as you can in the first year. Join
societies, go to events, network.. everything will help. Even if it doesn't
seem like its helping, it isn't doing any harm. The likelihood is that your CV
will be fairly dull before going to university, you need to spend first year
sprucing it up - doing things that show you'd be a great catch for some firm in
the future. Get on committees for societies, volunteer, these sort of things
all make your CV look good. And it needs to. Talk to people, get numbers and e-mail
addresses. Having a large network of people you can talk to is vital - you'll
hear it a lot but it's definitely 'who you know' that gets you places nowadays.
You'll be surprised how much you can benefit from befriending and staying in
contact with just a few people. So, my third tip for first year is to build up
the CV fodder.
I hope my advice is helpful to some, if not then I
apologise for taking up your time and I'll ask you nicely to bugger off my
blog. If you want to ask any questions about being a first year economics
student with a goal of the finance career then feel free, I'll be happy to
answer. Best of luck.
