Return of “Boot Camp” Provides Introduction to Professional Finance

SIPA’s recent Financial Career Boot Camp, hosted by the Office of Career Services (OCS) on October 4, gave students without professional experience in the field a chance to explore this specialized career path.

Peter Marber ’87 MIA, an adjunct professor at the School who worked with OCS to launch last year’s inaugural boot camp, helped to plan the 2013 event as well. “Many students come to SIPA with a vague interest in a Wall Street career but often with no prior work experience in the field,” he said. “The Boot Camp helps clarify potential pathways and possibilities.”

The day-long program was broken up into multiple panels that focused on different specialties in the finance industry, including investment banking, sales and trading, central banking, and asset management.

Panelists included SIPA alumni who work at organizations such as Goldman Sachs, Standard & Poor’s, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. They discussed their work and how they got to their positions, and imparted advice on how SIPA students could navigate opportunities in finance and position themselves for successful careers.

Marber said that the Boot Camp is geared to help first-year students plan their career search early — and realistically. “Our students often compete with MBAs for many jobs, and Boot Camp highlights how and why SIPA’s unique training is valuable in the job market,” he said.

Dongyue Zou MPA ’15, a first-year student concentrating in International Finance and Economic Policy, said she was particularly interested “in finding SIPA’s advantage compared to MBA students.”

Employers in global and public finance, for example, may value the perspective and skill sets that SIPA bring, like experience in other countries and foreign-language skills.

Students also appreciated the insights offered by the panel on alternative or nontraditional financial careers, which included a discussion about social impact investment.

“I came [to the Boot Camp] because I expected to learn about different fields in the financial sector,” said Yekta Karimi MIA ’15, another first-year IFEP student. “I like that the forum was broken down by different topics.”

Students attending the Boot Camp had diverse professional backgrounds, ranging from experience in the federal government to consulting to engineering. Some had a basic background in finance gained through internships or undergraduate studies; most appreciated the opportunity to network with alumni.

Indeed, the Boot Camp is one of many ways SIPA is building bridges between students and alumni, Marber observed. “I'm hoping in 10 years many students who attended the Boot Camp will come back as panelists with their own success stories.”

— Doyeun Kim MIA ’14