Some career stories begin with certainty. Others begin with curiosity. Meet Harrsh Bajaj.
Growing up in Mumbai, he absorbed the city’s pace, ambition, and the constant push to do well. But like many finance aspirants, he often felt the quiet confusion of knowing he wanted a strong career, yet not knowing the exact direction to take.
Even after discovering his interest in sustainability and climate-linked finance, one challenge stayed with him: “How do you actually get a job in finance when you’ve studied the theory, but companies expect real, practical skills?“
This realization led him to seek a specialized program at Quintedge which provided him with the necessary practical skills and placement support due to which he finally got a Job as an Analyst at Dun & Bradstreet India.
His journey isn’t about rushing. It’s about thoughtful decisions, steady growth, and using the right support at the right time. Let’s explore his journey – in his own words.
How Did You Develop an Interest in Investment Banking?
“For me, the interest didn’t suddenly appear. It grew slowly.
I always liked understanding how companies make decisions, why a project is considered profitable, why some businesses scale faster than others, and how a balance sheet quietly reveals more than any presentation. Numbers, in a strange way, felt honest.
At the same time, I was very drawn to sustainability and climate finance. But the more I explored that world, the clearer it became that none of it works without strong financial fundamentals. Whether you’re valuing a renewable project, analysing carbon credits, or understanding climate risk, you still need to think like a finance professional first.
So my interest in investment banking and finance in general developed out of a desire to understand things properly. I wasn’t chasing a glamorous field. I just wanted to build a solid foundation that would support whatever direction I eventually chose.”
What Steps Did You Take to Get Into This Field?
“My biggest turning point for me was choosing the Master’s in Carbon Finance at The University of Edinburgh. That program was intense, technical, and deeply connected to real issues but It wasn’t enough to understand climate, you also had to understand cash flows, risks, valuations, and the story behind the numbers.
That’s when I decided to strengthen the other half of my profile.
I enrolled in the Quintedge Financial Modeling & Valuation Program, simply because I wanted to learn the right way to build models, analyse companies, and present financial insights. The training grounded me. It gave me confidence that I could handle analytical roles not just theoretically, but in real workplaces.
So, in a way, both paths my specialised Master’s and my modelling training worked together. One gave me global understanding. The other gave me practical skill. And together, they formed a direction that felt natural to pursue.”
How Did Quintedge Help You in Getting Placed?
“For me, Quintedge didn’t just teach me financial modelling. It made me comfortable with the way analysts actually think and work.
In class, nothing felt like textbook learning. It felt like someone was showing me, step by step, how real corporate analysis is done. That changed my confidence. It made me feel like I could walk into any analytical discussion and genuinely contribute.
But the bigger support came during placements.
The team didn’t try to push me into a random role just to show a result. They spent time understanding my background in sustainability, my interest in risk, and the kind of analytical environment where I would genuinely fit.
The CV guidance, the interview prep, the mock discussions, all of it made the process feel less overwhelming. It felt like I wasn’t navigating everything alone.
Eventually, I got placed with Dun & Bradstreet India, and the role matched both sides of my training- sustainability awareness and financial modeling clarity.
I wouldn’t say Quintedge “got me placed.”
I would say Quintedge helped me become the version of myself who was ready to get placed.”
Can You Share Your Preparation Strategy With Us?
“Sure, My preparation wasn’t about doing a hundred different things.
It was about doing a few things properly and doing them consistently.
To begin with, I focused on strengthening my basics. Even though I had studied finance during my Master’s, I realised that understanding theory and applying it in real world are two very different things.
So I spent a lot of time rebuilding my comfort with the core building blocks, financial statements, valuation logic, and the structure behind a clean model. I didn’t want to just “know” the concepts; I wanted to be able to use them the way analysts actually do.
At the same time, I made modeling practice a regular habit. I would open fresh spreadsheets and build models from scratch, even simple ones. The goal wasn’t speed, but clarity. Slowly, modeling stopped feeling like a technical task and started feeling like a language I could work in. That shift made a big difference.
Something that helped me a lot was, whenever I tried my hands on valuing a company, I would pause and think: “Okay, but how would this affect cash flows? How would it change a project’s risk?” This habit turned my preparation into something deeper and more structured. Interviews became easier because my answers weren’t memorised.
I also spent time refining my CV so that it told one clear, consistent story. Instead of listing everything I had done, I focused on showing a profile that fit the kind of roles I was targeting.
Quintedge played an important role during this phase. The assignments, the model-building exercises, the mock interviews, all of it helped me understand where I stood and what I needed to improve. Their feedback pushed me to think sharper and present my ideas better.
And through all of this, I made sure not to rush. I wasn’t preparing to “crack something quickly.” I was preparing to build a career that made sense for me. That mindset kept me calm and helped me make better decisions throughout the journey.”
Harrsh’s journey from curiosity-driven confusion to a meaningful analytical role shows how powerful the right learning and guidance can be. Quintedge is proud to have been a part of his growth and continues to support many more students building careers with clarity and confidence.
