24M, Indian. I've screwed up my life so far, looking for some serious career advice (Please read).

[Lazyleopard]

I just turned 24, have a 3.0 GPA(7.33 CGPA). I completed engineering in CSE from a Tier 3 Uni in India. I was lazy, ignorant and what not, ended up getting no job at all. As a last resort I've been helping in my family business since graduation(nothing big, so can't show on paper and not a viable long time career option either). 10th and 12th scores are both 80%.

I am basically jobless for 2 years now, I regret the mistakes I made. But now I've picked up programming once again, and I am dead serious about my career know. I am spending 10+ hrs daily on programming, presently doing Java + DSA (Data Structures and algo, will soon pick up Python + ML). My dream is to get into a M7 B school in 3-4 years. Is it too much to ask? (btw, I gave CAT with moderate effort in 2017, and ended up getting 85 percentile, so I can definitely have a high GMAT score.)

Post MBA goals are to work as in PE/HF/IB (buy side). That's the main reason why I am thinking about M7. (But I think I don't stand a chance)

But don't know where to start in (I am good with the programming part but completely clueless apart from that especially in quant finance related stuff) and how to land an actual job for now?

What are the best things that I could do in next 4 years, so that I could end up with a solid enough profile for those B-schools. (Maybe Some resume booster kind of stuff). I seriously want to get my career back on track.

Any other advice on how to get career on track? I am willing to do anything, Is it too late now to make up for my lost time?

On a sidenote, one of my relative works in Goldman Sachs Bangalore as a Quant Strategist (Analyst), straight out of college(IIT) in India. How hard is it to get there?

 

[longgamma]

Looks like the wrong forum here to be frank if you want to do an MBA. I'd suggest you use Linkedin to find people who are currently working in your desired fields and see if they could guide you or suggest next steps. You are just 24 and most are confused at that age. Dont beat yourself up too much.

 

[Onegin]

Check out Wall Street Oasis - they have threads dedicated on how to break in to the industry from a non-target background.

fwiw, my biography isn't starkly different from yours, and things worked out ok for me. Best suggestion I can give - rather than focus on the job or the company, focus on how to make yourself useful. Start small, and keep building on your usefulness.

 

[Michsund]

I say that in general keeping large goals become difficult after a while. I would say keep on making small goals and keep on working on those. Start small and work your way up to a bigger goal.