So a quick little background: graduated in '09 from a non-target with a degree in Finance. Got a position at a small alternative Asset Management firm and have been in their hedge fund and with cross responsibilities in the valuation advisory for the past 2 years. I am not interested in hedge funds or advancing my career in this role or this firm.
I have been offered an unpaid internship for 3 months at a boutique I-Banking firm (with no guarantee of a full-time position) in the semi-conductor & tech space. I have also been interviewing with a BB and a near BB PWM firms for a Senior Analyst position. The salary bump with either of these two positions would be awesome and is pretty attractive.
HOWEVER, I am not interested in public markets asset management as a career at all. I am much interested in Private Equity -- something I figured out through my two projects with our M&A valuation advisory. I am looking to get into I-Banking to gain experience so that I can get a position at a PE firm.
I say cross-roads for this decision because I have student loans that I am paying, insurance, etc. all my bills that need to be paid. I'm not sure how I'd be able to afford having no income for three months at this boutique with no guarantee of a full-time offer. Yes, the MD has told that I won't be paper-pushing, and that if I'm capable, he will put me in front of clients. He also said that he'd help with a great recommendation and contacts to try and get a full-time position afterwards. I have savings that I can use, but they are not much. I know I could sustain myself for 3 months, but then after that, I'd be done. If I couldn't secure a position, then I'd be pretty fcked.
I know that I-banking to PE is my goal. I know that being in the public markets is something I am not fond of at all. I know that the PWM positions will give me a nice paycheck and an opportunity to create a career in that space.
Lastly, b-school is going to be my next big step. Normally, without this I-banking in question, I would be taking one of the PWM positions and then applying to b-schools to do the switch into PE. I know this is tough, but that was my original plan. My VPs at either of the PWM firms I'd take a position at have degrees from Harvard / Stanford and I could use their recommendations for B-school..... Now this unpaid internship has thrown a good monkey wrench in there.
I know this is a long ass post, but that just shows the depth of my confusion. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks.
No pay and the guy is already talking about giving you a recommendation at the end of it (ie they most likely wont hire you). What exactly is the reason they are not willing to pay you???
I'm all for needing to put in your time and you can't make 6-figues your first year out, I get that. But if you have your degree and experience, it's somewhat insulting to ask you to work for free and it makes them look like amateur hour. Unless there is a REALLY good and compelling reason why they are not paying you, that one is a total pass. You're a degreed professional and should be compensated as such.
They usually hire b-school students for internships, however, I emailed one of the partners and he got back to me. It's been tough sledding trying to get into i-banking with two years of asset management experience for a paid position...
That still doesnt answer why they don't want to pay you. You're a professional, act like you're worth it.
I agree you should try to get paid...If you go about it in a professional manner the worst that can happen is they say no....But if your end goal is PE you should take the internship regardless of pay. Your chances of breaking in to PE are a function of time and experience.....the more time you spend in an unrelated field (current role, PWM) the less chances you'll have to get to PE. Try it out of for a month and half and if its clear you don't have an opportunity for pay / advancement then start networking aggressively to find a more attractive IB role. Good luck to you.
Bill, your initial thoughts re: PE and its link with IB is what is driving me to seriously consider this. If I try it out for a month and a half and I figure out I don't have an opportunity for pay/advancement, then I'm basically fcked for leaving a good job and with bills.
Jack, I understand, but there are no other opportunities in IB and I've been trying. With your line of thinking, the PWM position would be better and then b-school to try to get into PE?
Thanks for your posts.
I understand your concern with the bills, but getting in to PE is a far more daunting problem to overcome. I'm an analyst at a PE fund with over $1BN AUM and it's been an uphill battle just to stay in the industry...The competition is fierce and you’ll be at a severe disadvantage to your peers with 4-5 years of PE related pre mba experience no matter what school you attend
Yep, that disadvantage is why this opportunity seems like something I should take. I'm just wanting to weigh the risks and want to make sure that I've thought of most of them before making a decision. Knowing you are in the industry, it helps to have your POV. I do understand that having 3-4 years of unrelated experience, and attending a top school still won't ensure I get into PE and that is why this experience, although unpaid, will help with getting my foot in the door into i-banking -- a related experience that would leverage well into PE after b-school. I'm just trying to get my head around the possibility of doing the internship for 3 months, then the firm not having enough deal flow to take me on full-time at that moment nad me being out of a position.
How tough would it be to leverage an unpaid 3 month internship where I get to work on a live deal in a small deal team with client interaction time into a full-time i-banking analyst position? The Principal said he is willing to train me and he understands because he was an intern once as well!
Thanks
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