Survey Finds MBA Grads Need More Practical Hands-On Training to Succeed on Wall Street

If you think your MBA is going to prepare you for a career in M&A or investment banking, think again. A new survey found that nearly nine out of 10 (86 percent) MBA graduates felt unprepared when completing a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) analysis.

Granted, the survey, which was conducted by Training The Street (TTS), a leading corporate training provider for a majority of Wall Street firms and top tier business schools, is more than a little self-serving.

But the results indicate that just having an MBA isn't enough if you want to excel in the high finance world of investment banking and that some practical hands-on or on the job experience, such as internships, are valuable tools to consider when thinking about a career in the financial markets.

The TTS survey polled a large training class of incoming associates at a global investment bank, where 90 percent of them already had their MBAs. The survey measured the students' level of preparedness to enter the work force before and after taking TTS's "boot camp" style training course.

The survey found that prior to entering TTS' course, 86 percent of the participants did not feel "very prepared" when completing a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) analysis. The survey also revealed that 80 percent of the participants did not feel "very prepared" when performing a leveraged buyout (LBO) analysis.

"Our survey shows that while MBA programs are great at creating a solid foundation for potential Wall Street hires, MBAs lack the hands-on practical skills that Wall Street candidates need to better perform on the job," said Scott Rostan, Founder and Principal of Training The Street.

After TTS training, 37 percent of the participants reported feeling "much more prepared" or "somewhat more prepared" in M&A analysis while nearly 50 percent responded they felt "much more prepared" or "somewhat more prepared" with LBO analysis.

Other survey findings include:

· 85 percent found TTS training "very helpful" in preparing them for Wall Street careers.

· Prior to TTS training, 62 percent felt at least "somewhat prepared" when checking a junior deal team member's work. That percentage rose to 95 percent after the TTS course.

"Firms expect their new hires to hit the ground running, and our training programs give them the practical skills necessary to excel on the job from the start," Mr. Rostan said. "In the finance world, junior professionals must be fully prepared when entering the workforce in order to avoid falling victim to a company's increased turnover."

Training The Street (TTS) has offices in the financial hubs across the U.S., as well as an office in London and India.