Intern Feature: Nicholas Wiles

I worked for J.P. Morgan in New York City in their markets summer analyst program, where I was on the municipal bond sales & trading desk. 

HOW DID YOU FIND THIS OPPORTUITY?

I had identified my freshman year that I wanted to pursue a career on the sell-side on Wall Street, in particular the sales & trading function at a top investment bank. With the exception of Citigroup, these firms do not recruit from UMass for these type of positions. As a result I began networking for this type of role ever since second semester freshman year, and through connections I made, the opportunity actually arose during my sophomore year to interview for a different division within the Corporate and Investment Bank at JP Morgan. I joined a securities lending sales desk within their Investor Services Division, and networked all summer within the bank to eventually receive an interview and internally moved over to sales & trading for this past summer.

WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE LIKE AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN

It was a fascinating environment working on a Wall Street investment bank trading floor. The hours were very long (on average 85 hours a week) but it was a very rewarding and challenging experience. I learned very deep levels of fixed-income valuation and bond math, how traders spread bonds and make markets, how salespeople sell new debt issuance and communicate the best bonds to buy/sell to clients, and a great deal about the muni and rates markets. 

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER STUDENTS?

My biggest advice for other students would be to identify what your passionate about as early as possible from a job function, work-life balance, and location standpoint, then do whatever it takes to get to that spot. That could be a general business and finance role that recruits on campus or it could be something like a top investment banking, sales & trading, or asset management role. No one of these positions makes you better than someone with the other job. Figure out what matters to you most and leave time to enjoy the 4 great years you have at UMass.