Survey: MBA Grads Need More Practical Training To Succeed

LANSING (WWJ) - MBA graduates need more hands-on training to prepare themselves for Wall Street careers according to a new survey by Training The Street (TTS), a corporate training provider for a majority of Wall Street firms and top-tier business schools.

TTS surveyed a large training class of incoming associates at a global investment bank, 90 percent already with MBAs, and measured students' level of preparedness to enter the work force before and after the firm's 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.

Scott Rostan, Founder of Training The Street, said the 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.

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.

The survey also found that 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.

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.