Seems like there has been a lot of negative posts lately (mainly from a few trolls or most likely the same troll) so I wanted give a positive story for those looking to transition.
Quick Background: Went to a non-target state school and didn't know anything about banking for the most part aside from the few kids who mentioned they wanted to do it. I took the first job offer I got as an FA, which I hated. I worked there for roughly 2 years and started looking for something else.
Next job I took was in the data field working with institutional investors and hedge funds. I enjoyed the job at first, but things slowly become more and more boring and I knew this was a long-tern career for me. I started researching for the type of job I wanted and decided this time I was not going to settle just for better pay. I passed level 1 of the CFA and started applying to research jobs.
After I passed level 1 I spent my free time learning as much modeling and technical data as I could. I started to get a few interviews and they started out rough, but as I learned more what types of things they wanted I was able to get to later rounds. Throughout this process I applied to probably 100 jobs maybe more and reached out to a number of other people through email.
Finally I received an offer at a MM bank as an associate for an awesome analyst that I get along really well with. It isn't the BB end all that most people aspire to here, but I am very happy with the role and firm especially from coming from pretty unrelated roles.
The message I would pass on to people who are looking to transition or are having trouble with interviews is that it is all a game of numbers. You only need one person to be willing to give you a chance and just have to catch them at the right time. Make sure you try to better position yourself for the position you want the best you can, for me that was sitting for the CFA and learning modeling on my own (at least enough to talk about in an interview). Final thought is what I think gave me an edge over the other experienced candidates was work ethic. I had 5 rounds of interviews for the position and each round made sure I put in the work beforehand and showed an interest in both the sector and the analysts past work.
Don't give up on your dreams, but don't expect any handouts you need to put yourself in the position to succeed.
