Energy IB Exit Opportunities?

Hello,

If I were to work in Energy IB (probably in Houston), what would the exit opps be like?

I assume that an analyst at a decent IB could exit into HF/PE/Corp Dev, but would all of these jobs be in the Energy industry, or are generalist firms or other industries (consumer, tech, etc.) hiring people with Energy IB experience? A lot of my connections are to the energy industry, which is why I'm asking about Energy IB specifically.

It's fine with me to work in Energy IB for a few years, but it's not something that I want to be doing long-term.

Thanks for your help!

 

I turned down an energy IBD offer with a BB primarily because (in my experience) it pigeon holes you into energy. I know plenty of people that have tried leaving energy for other industries, and it isn't easy. That said, energy is a great field to be in, and I'm sure with the right experience and connections you can make it happen. I just don't think it's likely.

 

Are you pre-MBA or post-MBA? I would think if you did your analyst stint at a top-shop in Houston in IBD you wouldn't necessarily be pigeon holed by industry group if you choose to go for MBA and try to go to the buyside.

If your goal is to do 2 years IBD>buyside; it could be challenging to get out of energy.

my $0.02. Would be helpful if you elaborated on your desired career path.

 
Best Response

As a current energy IBD analyst in Houston, I kind of struggled with this as well. I wanted to do tech or M&A but recruiting at my school in Texas was all oil and gas, at least for the big banks, so I chose to go that route rather than go to a no-name bank. It's definitely more challenging than other industry groups, but it's also pretty interesting and now that I'm in it I feel less inclined to leave. It's a great industry and the price environment is spurring lots of innovation so tech within the energy industry is hot right now and I'm hoping to move to an energy tech VC or PE fund after my time in banking.

But to answer your question, if you go through traditional channels (headhunters / MDs), your exit opps will pretty much only be in energy. If you go another route (MBA, networking, online) you have a shot at leaving the industry - it's definitely easier to get out of oil and gas than in, so not a bad place to start.

 

Thanks for your input, everyone. To clarify, this would be for a pre-MBA analyst position. I am looking at IB Analyst to HF/PE/Corp. Dev, not really sure what I want to do after that.

I am interested in the Oil and Gas industry, but I am worried about the industry completely disappearing down the road, given the limited supply of oil and moves towards energy efficiency. I want to make sure that I am working in an industry that will be around for a long time. Is this concern a valid one?

 
ngp99:

I am interested in the Oil and Gas industry, but I am worried about the industry completely disappearing down the road, given the limited supply of oil and moves towards energy efficiency. I want to make sure that I am working in an industry that will be around for a long time. Is this concern a valid one?

Lol...you should not be worried about this.

 
ngp99:

Thanks for your input, everyone. To clarify, this would be for a pre-MBA analyst position. I am looking at IB Analyst to HF/PE/Corp. Dev, not really sure what I want to do after that.

I am interested in the Oil and Gas industry, but I am worried about the industry completely disappearing down the road, given the limited supply of oil and moves towards energy efficiency. I want to make sure that I am working in an industry that will be around for a long time. Is this concern a valid one?

Please ask this to anyone you interview with. Please.

 

Not a valid concern - we're going to be burning dead animals in this country for a long, long time. Plus even with an O&G banking background, you could probably transition into various energy investing/corp dev roles in the alt energy space, which will be growing for years. Better chance at that if you're in power & utilities, which is slightly different than O&G but not a big deal either way.

 

Oil and gas focused funds and operators are the most common exits. It's easier to transition to a generalist exit if you're based in NYC, not Houston. Plenty of industry (non-energy) funds will interview you, but your opportunities, all else being equal, will be of a higher quality within the industry you've been working in as an analyst.

If you don't want to do energy, don't go to Houston. Don't really get the undergrad fear of energy that I see on here and from our own recruits.

 

Use the search function a large list of the potential exit opps has been hashed out including Riverstone, Fortistar, FirstEnergy, and a bunch of others.

Easy exit opps include those guys, slightly harder opps include any PE/HF assuming you get LBO and Debt transaction experience. Check out all of the NR/Infra threads that have popped up recently or just search for stuff I have posted. For reference I was in a power group and now work at MacCap in Property (mostly).

--There are stupid questions, so think first.
 

From what I've heard, most PE funds don't invest in the natural resources sector, but I think Energy would be a great group to be in with all the clean-tech stuff going on. There's a hedge fund for practically every sector out there, so there will def be opportunities in natural resources there. As far as recruiting goes, as long as you work at a good bank, you'll still build the skill set to be able to work across almost any industry group.

 

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