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Would you leave IB for an internship in PE?
 

Asia_i_Banker's picture
EN
(Orangutan, 266
 
Points)
 on 4/15/11 at 1:15am

I am now on secondment at my top-tier bank’s PE fund from its IB division (after only about 1 year at the job). Life is significantly better here. Both the work itself and the relations between colleagues are a very nice change from the never-ending stream of formatting pitch books in IB. I’ve talked to the PE fund about continuing on after this short 3-month secondment is over, but they said that the could only offer me an internship position, as they couldn’t get approval to increase their headcount this year (it’s a very small team– 4 people and a secretary, and they are already hiring another more senior person to come in before my secondment ends).

Another major advantage of being here is that it is in mainland China, where I can improve my Mandarin. If I would take the internship position, I would even enroll in language courses at a local university every morning and then come in to the office in the afternoon (but, of course, still work until midnight+). I am really keen to improve my Chinese, so this is very important to me.

Downsides:
1) I would take a salary cut, and I would also not be eligible for a bonus. Plus, taxes in mainland China are quite high. I am guessing that I might end up with half of my current total take-home at IB, on an annualized basis.
2) I would be leaving a secure permanent position at a top tier investment bank for an internship that would last for an indefinite time period.
3) As an intern, I also would be giving up a lot of the perks of a full time job, such as health insurance, vacation time, etc.
4) It could be seen as a career back-step to become an intern again

What would you do?

I would have to apply for full time positions at other places during my internship in order to settle into a more secure long-term position – how would other employers view this? Just 1 year at an IB before doing a 3 month secondment in PE, then becoming an intern at the PE while studying language?

SHORTmyCDO's picture

Are you serious? FT in IBD

IB
(Gorilla, 740
 
Points)
 on 4/15/11 at 1:18am

Are you serious? FT in IBD to being an intern?

turtles's picture

hell no

IB
(Neanderthal, 2,961
 
Points)
 on 4/15/11 at 1:20am

hell no

Just saying...

dwight schrute's picture

Literally hundreds of monkeys

(Gorilla, 676
 
Points)
 on 4/15/11 at 4:44am

Literally hundreds of monkeys are attempting to move from internships to full time IBD and you want to do the opposite? Just listen to what you are saying.

Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art - Andy Warhol

Asia_i_Banker's picture

yeah.. it does seem like a

EN
(Orangutan, 266
 
Points)
 on 4/15/11 at 10:15am

yeah.. it does seem like a bad choice.. but life really is better here.. going back to investment banking just doesn't seem very enticing...

also, the opportunity to study chinese for hours every day is really great. I want to be in China for the long run, and its really important to improve my language abilities.

but still,.. the trade offs are great. becoming an intern again... uggh... but, there was an intern here before who actually did a similar thing - left raymond james IB in new york to do an internship here while studying the language, and now he's working FT at a Chinese hedge fund. I'm wondering if he was a special case, or if employes would actually not see my internship/language study in a negative way. Ideally, i would find a FT position at a PE fund in China, but its unfortunately a big risk when i already have a decent IB job..

Kanon's picture

Hey AiB - just curious - do

O
(King Kong, 1,504
 
Points)
 on 4/15/11 at 10:23am

Hey AiB - just curious - do you know some mandarin already and just need to become 'fluent', or do you just speak English (and maybe Cantonese)? Did the prev intern have some initial mandarin skills too or just english?

I'm curious because I'm seeing 99% of postings for PE in HK and China requiring mandarin as a pre-req

Jackiesinthesun's picture

keep your freaking job and

IB
(Baboon, 118
 
Points)
 on 4/15/11 at 10:26am

keep your freaking job and get rosetta stone then shop around in 2yrs. How old are you?

Ske7ch's picture

Successful troll is

O
 
Points)
 on 4/15/11 at 12:14pm

Successful troll is successful.

- Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs get slaughtered.
- The harder you work, the luckier you become.
- I believe in the "Golden Rule": the man with the gold rules.

Tracer's picture

Chinese hedge fund? Right...

IB
 
Points)
 on 4/15/11 at 1:03pm

Chinese hedge fund? Right...

In reply to Kanon
Asia_i_Banker's picture

Right now my Mandarin is at

EN
(Orangutan, 266
 
Points)
 on 4/16/11 at 1:27am

Right now my Mandarin is at the intermediate level, with no Cantonese. The challenge is making the big step to being able to read newspapers, discuss business models, etc. The previous intern had about the same level of Chinese as me, and was also doing part-time language courses and part-time internship.

Because, as you say, 99% of Greater China offices require Mandarin (if not also Cantonese), I need to master it sometime if I want to effectively work here. However, it is a big trade off, giving up a full time lucrative position…

But, a big part of me is saying “fuck it.. I should follow my passions”

RevPAR's picture

Without risk, there is no

PE
(Monkey, 38
 
Points)
 on 4/16/11 at 2:34am

Without risk, there is no reward. Take chances while you still can.

Vincent Van Gogh - Everyone said to him, "You can't be a great painter, you only have one ear." And you know what he said? "I can't hear you."

ibhopeful532's picture

There's nothing wrong with

O
(King Kong, 1,016
 
Points)
 on 4/16/11 at 2:14pm

There's nothing wrong with chasing your passion, however, that doesn't mean you need necessarily give up your current position. If you're a top analyst at your "top firm's" IBD team, and you have a sufficient command of Chinese, there is no reason you shouldn't be able to land multiple interviews across APAC for PE positions if that's what you're looking for.

I'm all for going after what you want, but giving up a FT IBD job at a top-tier bank at a PE firm that is not at all guaranteeing you employment is probably not the best move.

In reply to Ske7ch
bfin's picture

Ske7ch wrote: Successful

CF
(Neanderthal, 2,794
 
Points)
 on 4/16/11 at 2:19pm
Ske7ch:

Successful troll is successful.

this.

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee

WSO is not your personal search function.

OMS's picture

dude just express interest

PE
(King Kong, 1,886
 
Points)
 on 4/16/11 at 6:07pm

dude just express interest for FT at the PE fund. Keep your IB job wait a year or two come back to the PE Fund for FT opps. 1 year IB is not enough to make ot swtich to PE in my opinion.
make sure you tell the PE fund of your plans and make some contacts.

c00guy's picture

Are you serious? Dude, keep

PE
(Monkey, 32
 
Points)
 on 4/17/11 at 2:20pm

Are you serious? Dude, keep your freakin FT job in IB and after a year, you'll easily get into PE. I mean seriously, if they really needed you, they would have given you an offer - what makes you believe they'll change their decision in a couple of months. I've never heard of a hiring approval in a PE firm - sounds so illogical!!

Asia_i_Banker's picture

Well, I've let the PE fund

EN
(Orangutan, 266
 
Points)
 on 4/18/11 at 9:59pm

Well, I've let the PE fund know that I wouldn't be interested in an internship, but only ft.. i'll continue to try to persuade my current bank to transfer me to China.

Thanks for your input

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