Megan Alexander W'16

Email: Feel free to reach out Megan at megan.alexander@me.com.

What did you study at Penn and when did you graduate? 

I graduated from Wharton in 2016 with a concentration in Finance and Accounting. 

What was your favorite part of Penn/Wharton?

I really enjoyed the sense of teamwork at Penn in both the academic and extracurricular sides. In my extra-curricular activities, I was part of the Penn Varsity Swim Team and the sense of community within the athletes was phenomenal. Outside of swimming, I really enjoyed the emphasis of collaboration and teamwork in classes like MGMT 100 (now known as WH101). I found that the skills I have learned when it comes to collaboration and teamwork are very applicable to the real world since everyone is often working together in the workplace. 

How was your experience balancing your practices and academics as a Student-Athlete?

Of course, it was not easy. I learned the importance of being flexible and understanding that everyone at Penn has different commitments to fulfill. Classes like MGMT 100 have taught me what it was like to work with people with different schedules and learning to be accommodating. Again, this skill was very important in my current career since everyone has different schedules and it is important to be flexible and work together to find a good time to meet. 

What advice do you wish you had known when you were an undergraduate?

Use the alumni network! At Wharton, there are tons of classes that can be taken and there is a lot of guidance (whether that is asking alumni or upperclassmen). Ask them what classes to take, what to study, or even about their career paths – it will help you make your decision on your professional career! It seems that, at Wharton, there is pressure to go into investment banking or consulting, but it is also important to explore different career opportunities and find what you TRULY enjoy doing. Again, feel free to talk to upperclassmen or alumni about this – most are super willing to help! 

What do you do now and where are you based?

I have been working in New York since graduating at J.P Morgan. I currently work in equity research covering Hardlines and Broadlines Retail. In my role, we service institutional clients such as hedge funds and mutual funds producing research and making stock recommendations. I would say that there is a pretty healthy work-life balance. Of course, there are some days that require early mornings and/or late nights, but overall, for a finance job, I am pretty happy about the work-life balance. 

What has been the proudest accomplishment of your career?

My proudest accomplishment would be launching coverage on my own stocks. I now cover 4 stocks of my own where I do my own modeling and analysis. Although it was scary at first to take on such a big responsibility, I am definitely proud of this accomplishment! 

What has been the biggest challenge of your career?

The biggest challenge was switching roles within J.P. Morgan. During my junior year, I did a summer internship in equity sales and spent 3 years in equity sales after graduation.. However, I decided that I wanted something different since I wanted to have more ownership in what I was doing and dive more deeply into specific concepts – in equity sales, I was mainly doing tasks that were an inch deep and mile wide. Of course, with any recruiting and/or internal transfer, it was very stressful but it was definitely the best decision that I have made! 

What advice do you have for our members as they begin exploring careers and internships? 

For those that are currently recruiting, my biggest advice for you during the interview process is 1. to do your research and 2. pick 3-5 things that you wish to tell the recruiter about you, so you can easily spin your answers to properly answer the question while providing meaningful insight about yourself.

For those that are figuring out what they want to do in the future, talk to upperclassmen who have gone through the process, talk to professors since they have had other jobs and have also encountered tons of people who have been through the process, and utilize your alumni network (ie. using Linkedin, Wharton’s database, etc.). 

Anything else you want to share?

Enjoy your time in college as much as you can! Your 4 years will fly by very fast, and you really only do get 4 years. Take classes that are interesting for you, do things that you enjoy, and try not to over-stress!