Know what to do now, and what comes next.
Tell us where you are and where you want to go. Career Coach maps the path: the clubs, classes, skills, certifications, networking, and internships that get you there, on a timeline you can follow.
See my saved roadmap ↓"I'm a sophomore studying Finance and I want to work in investment banking."
"I'm a first-year, haven't picked a major, and I'm curious about public health."
Either is all it takes. Not sure yet is a fine answer. Your roadmap includes:
- 🗺️A year-by-year timeline with milestones
- 📅Recruiting timelines and key dates
- 🎯Suggested career paths
- 🤝Clubs and student organizations
- 📚Classes and electives to consider
- 🛠️Skills to build, in order
- 📜Certifications worth it for your path
- ☕A networking plan
- 💼Internships to target, and when
- ⭐Extracurriculars that strengthen your story
See a fully worked example
This is what a roadmap looks like when our career-pathing team builds it by hand for a Tulane sophomore, using Tulane's own career-center resources and recruiting timelines. Tap a phase to open it.
Maya Torres
Sophomore · A.B. Freeman School of Business
Finance major · 3.6 GPA · no internship yet
Investment Banking Analyst
Bulge bracket or elite boutique, NYC
Backup track kept warm: Management Consulting
1FoundationSophomore Fall›
Get into the two structures that matter most, and stop looking like a freshman on paper.
- Apply to Green Bull Investment Banking Group the moment applications open — ~20 students/year, the single highest-leverage move available at Tulane for this goal.
- Join Wall Street Krewe as a lower-bar finance community while the Green Bull decision is pending.
- Book a first 1:1 with Freeman Career Management Center via Handshake — start the coaching relationship now, not during crunch season.
- Rebuild the resume in Freeman's recommended format; get it reviewed at a CMC drop-in.
- Start technical self-study (accounting refresh, DCF basics), ~3 hrs/week.
- Clean up LinkedIn; follow 5 Tulane alumni in IB via the alumni tool — no ask yet, just visibility.
2Break InSophomore Spring›
Land a bank sophomore program — the actual unlock for junior-year recruiting.
- Apply to bank sophomore/early-ID programs as soon as they open — treat these as the real cycle, not a formality.
- Freeman's own timeline flags that junior-internship applications can open as early as January — start applying to some this spring too, don't wait for "junior year."
- Move from self-study into full LBO/DCF practice builds, timed like a real interview.
- Start deliberate coffee chats: one Tulane alum or 2nd-year analyst per week.
- Attend every on-campus bank info session, even for firms that aren't the top choice — reps talk to each other, and the practice matters.
3The Real RecruitSoph. Summer → Junior Fall›
Convert two years of groundwork into the junior-summer analyst offer.
- Sophomore summer: complete whichever program was secured — or use the summer for a smaller local finance internship or continued technical drilling.
- Junior fall is peak season: expect first-round interviews to run through the semester. Keep two years of coffee-chat relationships warm rather than cold-starting.
- Step into a leadership role inside Green Bull or Wall Street Krewe — a credibility signal that also compounds the network.
- Keep the consulting backup warm at near-zero cost: Tulane's own timeline shows consulting's junior-internship applications open later, so this doesn't compete with the IB push.
4Prove ItJunior Summer›
Turn the internship into a return offer.
- Treat the ten weeks as a ten-week interview: over-deliver, ask for feedback proactively, build real relationships beyond the assigned buddy.
- Stay lightly in touch with Freeman CMC and Green Bull mentors through the summer.
- Decide now whether CFA Level I is worth starting before senior year gets busy.
5Close It OutSenior Year›
Finish strong — don't let recruiting momentum eclipse graduation requirements.
- If the return offer is accepted: stay engaged with the team all year.
- If not: run full-time recruiting in parallel with coursework, leaning on the same network.
- Confirm Tulane's public-service graduation requirement is fully satisfied.
6LaunchYear 1 on the Job›
Transition well, and stay a node in the Tulane network rather than disappearing from it.
- Join the Tulane NYC alumni club within the first few months in the city.
- Consider becoming a Green Bull mentor the following year.
- Revisit CFA Level I timing once the role clarifies the long-term direction.
The reference toolkit
Skills to develop, in order
- Financial modeling — 3-statement, DCF, LBO, comps
- Accounting fundamentals, building on coursework already in progress
- Excel fluency — shortcuts, speed, banker formatting conventions
- Markets literacy — a daily habit, not a cram subject
- Behavioral storytelling — a tight "why banking, why this bank"
- Coffee-chat conversation skill — practiced, not innate
Clubs, programs & certifications
- Green Bull IB Group — top priority
- Wall Street Krewe — baseline community
- Freeman CMC coaching — ongoing throughout
- Darwin Fenner Fund — aspirational, junior year
- CFA Level I — optional, decide by junior summer
- Tulane Consulting Group — kept warm as backup
Networking playbook
- LinkedIn's Tulane alumni tool as the starting point for every outreach
- One coffee chat per week, sustained — not just a pre-recruiting sprint
- Green Bull's alumni-mentor pairing, if admitted
- Tulane's active NYC alumni club as a standing touchpoint
- Every campus info session, even for a non-top-choice firm
Internship & application strategy
- Apply early, not "on time" — Freeman's own guide flags January applications, earlier than most students expect
- Run IB and consulting in parallel without diluting focus — their cycles don't actually overlap
- Prioritize firms where a Green Bull connection already exists
- Treat every sophomore "insight" program as a real audition, not a formality
Specific next steps, starting this week
- This week: book a first Freeman CMC coaching appointment via Handshake.
- This week: check Green Bull's application window and start the application.
- Within 2 weeks: rebuild the resume in Freeman's format; get it reviewed at a CMC drop-in.
- Within 3 weeks: send the first 5 LinkedIn connection requests to Tulane alumni in IB.
- Within 4 weeks: start a financial-modeling fundamentals module, 3 hrs/week.
- Starting now, ongoing: read the markets section of a major financial paper daily, 15 minutes.
Maya Torres is an illustrative composite built from career-navigator's Tulane-specific research, not a real student.
Get plugged in at Tulane
Tulane roadmaps are built on research into Tulane's own career ecosystem, not generic advice.
Freeman Career Management Center
Tulane's business-school career center publishes its own recruiting timeline. For competitive tracks like investment banking, junior-internship applications can open as early as January of sophomore year.
Finance clubs, verified active
Green Bull Investment Banking Group, the Darwin Fenner Fund, and Wall Street Krewe are active student organizations tied to finance recruiting at Tulane.
What makes Tulane different
A standout real estate program, a 3+3 law pipeline, a top-10 public health school, a public-service graduation requirement, and Albert Lepage Center entrepreneurship support.
New Orleans and beyond
The New Orleans employer landscape, plus Tulane's alumni networks in New York, DC, Atlanta, and Houston, take your roadmap past graduation.
Real coaching, when you want a person
The AI gets you far. For the big moments, our team is here too.