00:00I want to tell you about Rohan, not because his story is extraordinary, but because it's painfully
00:08ordinary. 22 years old, BCom graduate, Mumbai University, decent marks, nothing spectacular,
00:1765% and absolutely no idea what to do next. Sounds familiar? Because here's what nobody
00:25tells you about finishing BCom. The degree gets you to the starting line, but the race? The race is
00:31something else entirely and Rohan was about to learn this the hard way. June of 2023, Rohan graduates.
00:39His parents are proud. Relatives are congratulating him. There's a small celebration and then Monday
00:46morning, beta a job do no. So Rohan does what every BCom graduate does. He goes to knockri.com,
00:53LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, everywhere. He uploads his resume and he applies and waits. And the first
01:01interview call hits. He's excited. It's a business development executive role. Sounds very corporate.
01:08It sounds professional. He shows up in a crisp shirt, resume in hand. The interview lasts exactly
01:1512 minutes. And your target will be 50 cold calls per day. Your salary will be 15,000 rupees per
01:21month,
01:223,000 rupees incentive if you hit your target. It's sales. It's not business development. It's just sales.
01:29He says, yes, anyway. I mean, he needs something on his resume at the end of the day, right?
01:35So two weeks in, he quits. He can't do it.
01:39Next job, customer service at a call center. 18,000 rupees per month, night shift. He takes it.
01:46Lasts one month. Next, marketing intern at a startup. Unpaid for three months and then 12,000 rupees.
01:54He's just making copies. He's booking caps for senior managers. He's ordering their lunch and whatnot.
02:00This is not what he thought Bcom would lead to. This is not what anyone tells you Bcom leads to.
02:08At one night, scrolling through Instagram at 1 a.m. Unable to sleep, he sees something.
02:13He sees a post about investment banking. Six to eight LPA starting salaries. Work with Goldman Sachs,
02:20Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan. And he thinks, yeh toh sirf I.A.M. waalun ke liye hota hai.
02:28Let me pause here. Because this is where most stories end.
02:33Rohan sees investment banking and his brain immediately goes, that's not for me.
02:40But why? Because of what we've been conditioned to believe.
02:44Think about every movie you've seen about investment banking. Think about movies like
02:50The Big Shot, Wall Street. Who are the heroes?
02:53Ultra rich, super smart, fast talkers, suit wearing, confident.
03:00They're making million dollar deals over lunch.
03:03They are flying to New York for board meetings.
03:06And Rohan? Rohan is a Bcom grad from Mumbai who just quit his third job in four months.
03:12He doesn't even know what investment banking actually means.
03:17IPO? He's heard of it.
03:20M&A? Iska matlab kya hai?
03:22Equity research? Sounds so complicated.
03:25But here's what I want you to understand.
03:28That mental block? It's not real.
03:32It's a story we tell ourselves because we don't have information.
03:36And Rohan was about to get that information.
03:39Three weeks after seeing that Instagram post, Rohan is still stuck.
03:45Still applying to random jobs.
03:48Still getting rejected.
03:49And one day, his college friend Priya calls him.
03:53Rohan, I'm doing this course.
03:55Investment banking operations.
03:58You should check it out.
04:00But Rohan is skeptical, obviously.
04:03Investment banking.
04:04Priya, that's not for people like us.
04:07And she laughs at it.
04:08And she says, that's exactly what I used to think too.
04:11But I went for a counseling session.
04:14You can go as well.
04:15It's completely free.
04:16What's the worst that will happen?
04:18So Rohan goes for this counseling session.
04:21He walks in expecting corporate jargon, intimidation and whatnot.
04:26Instead, the counselor asks him a simple question.
04:30Rohan, do you know how to use Excel?
04:33Rohan says, yeah, I know some basics.
04:36Can you analyze data and spot patterns?
04:39Rohan says, I mean, yeah, I guess so.
04:42Are you comfortable with numbers?
04:45And Rohan says, yeah, of course, I did B-Comp.
04:47Do you want to work in a professional environment with growth potential?
04:51Rohan says, obviously.
04:54Then you can go for investment banking.
04:58Rohan blinks.
04:59He says, but don't you like need an MBA or be like a CA or something?
05:06And the counselor says, no, you just need skills.
05:10And we teach you those skills.
05:11We teach them in three months.
05:13This is the moment everything shifted for Rohan.
05:17Not because someone told him he was special.
05:20But because someone told him he was capable.
05:23Let me break down what Rohan learned in that one hour counseling session.
05:28Because this is extremely important.
05:31Investment banking is not one thing.
05:34It's an industry.
05:35It's a massive industry.
05:37And within that industry, there are different types of roles.
05:41There's investment banking operations, which is one of them.
05:44It's the back end, the engine room of investment banking.
05:48While the front office guys are closing deals and meeting clients, the investment banking operations teams are ensuring those deals
05:55happen smoothly.
05:57Trade settlements, reconciliations, data management, compliance checks.
06:01It's a detail-oriented and process-driven job.
06:05It requires accuracy.
06:07It requires focus.
06:09And yes, it requires being street smart.
06:12And here's what Rohan realized.
06:14You don't need to be the wolf of Wall Street to work in investment banking.
06:18You need to be reliable.
06:20You need to be analytical.
06:22You need to be process-oriented.
06:24And he was all those things.
06:25He just didn't know there was a career that valued him.
06:29The counselor showed him placement records.
06:31He showed him students from BCom backgrounds placed at Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and whatnot.
06:41Starting salaries 4.5 LPA to 6 LPA.
06:44Not sales jobs.
06:45Not call centers.
06:47Real, structured careers in global financial institutions.
06:51And it was a three-month course.
06:52Not two years, not five years, not five months.
06:56Rohan walked out of the session with something he hadn't felt in months.
07:01You know what that was?
07:02It was hope.
07:05August 2023, Rohan enrolls in the SIBOB program.
07:08Certification Investment Banking Operations Program.
07:11Day 1, he's nervous.
07:14Imposter syndrome is loud in his head.
07:17What if I can't keep up?
07:19What if everyone else is smarter?
07:22But week 1, he realizes, everyone is like him.
07:27BCom grads, VBA students, some with a little bit of work experience in unrelated fields as well.
07:34All of them wanting the same thing.
07:37A real career.
07:38The course is intense.
07:40Financial markets, trade life cycles, settlement processes, risk management, compliance, Excel modeling, Bloomberg terminals.
07:49Real world case studies.
07:51But here's the thing.
07:52It's practical.
07:54Not theoretical.
07:55Not academic.
07:56Every concept is taught with, this is how you'll use this in Morgan Stanley.
08:02And Rohan, he's absorbing it.
08:04Because for the first time, he sees a clear path.
08:07Week 8, mock interviews start.
08:10Week 10, placement drives begin.
08:12Morgan Stanley is on campus.
08:13Yes, Rohan applies.
08:15He gets shortlisted.
08:16First round, technical test.
08:19He passes.
08:20Second round, HR interview.
08:22They ask him, why investment banking?
08:24And Rohan doesn't give them some rehearsed answer.
08:27He just tells them the truth.
08:29Because I was lost.
08:30I didn't know this world existed.
08:32But once I learned what it actually is, not what movies show, but what it actually is, I realized this
08:40is where I belong.
08:41I'm detail oriented.
08:42I'm disciplined.
08:43And I want to build a career, not just a job.
08:47Week 12, Rohan gets the offer letter.
08:50Morgan Stanley, 6 LPA.
08:52Investment banking operations analyst.
08:55He calls his parents.
08:56His mom cries.
08:57Not because of the salary.
09:00But because her son, who was working night shifts at a call center just four months ago, now has an
09:07offer letter from a company as big as Morgan Stanley.
09:11Now I need to tell you something very important.
09:13Because this story isn't about Rohan becoming rich overnight.
09:176 LPA is good salary.
09:19But it's not life changing money.
09:21Here's what's life changing.
09:24Rohan is now on a track.
09:26He's not doing random jobs anymore.
09:28He's building a career in investment banking.
09:32Year 1, investment banking operations analyst at Morgan Stanley.
09:37Year 2, senior analyst.
09:40Year 4 to 5, associate level.
09:438 to 12 LPA.
09:44Year 6 to 8, he becomes a team lead.
09:4715 to 20 LPA.
09:48And year 10 plus, he becomes an operations manager.
09:5125 to 40 LPA.
09:54Or he pivots to the front office.
09:56Risk management, compliance, portfolio management, whatnot.
10:01Because once you're inside the system, once you understand how investment banking works, the doors don't close.
10:08They multiply.
10:10And you remember that image that Rohan had of the ultra smart, super rich investment banker in movies?
10:17He's not there yet.
10:18But he's on that path.
10:20And that's what matters.
10:23Because the truth is, most people don't fail because they're not smart enough.
10:28They fail because they don't know the path exists in the first place.
10:33Rohan didn't know investment banking operations was a career option.
10:36He thought investment banking was only for IIM graduates who close billion dollar deals.
10:43But investment banking is an industry.
10:46And industries need people at every level.
10:49Front office, middle office, back office, all levels.
10:53All of them are part of the same ecosystem and all of them are accessible if you know where to
10:59look.
11:00So if you're watching this and you're a BCom student, I want you to understand one thing.
11:06Investment banking is not for the super smart or super rich only.
11:11It is for anyone who is willing to learn.
11:14I'm sure you're also willing to learn.
11:18Thanks.
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