Did I just close the door on Wall Street by going into Treasury post-MBA?
Hi y'aIl just accepted a post-MBA Treasury role at a F100 focused on capital strategy and FX. It felt like a solid move for markets exposure and WLB, but I keep seeing that treasury can pigeonhole you and make it harder to break into more front-office finance roles.
How real is that? Am I closing the door on equity research, credit research, or more strategic/capital markets-type roles, especially at startups (e.g., fundraising, capital strategy, IPO prep) or is that overstated? Would really appreciate honest takes from anyone who’s seen this play out.
Pre-mba I worked at a top rating agency (think S&P/Moody's) as a credit analyst for 4 years. What jobs on wall street are most realistic for me?
I mean what do you want to do ideally do after this treasury role?
was thinking fixed income research or something in asset management
I mean yeah its going to be harder pivoting into that from treasury, why dont you recruit directly into that now? Given your credit agency experience, and being in an MBA program right now (assuming its T15).
I actually graduated from my MBA in the summer of 2025, been in treasury for a year, I just wasn't sure if they would throw out my resume, I guess I should start applying soon
Yes, the door is closed
An MBA is a great way to change careers, it's not a great way to change careers post-MBA and then change it again a few years later. The first question you're going to get asked after your treasury role is, why didn't you do X directly from your MBA? Also, think about this from a hiring manager, why would someone want to hire you after time in treasury when they can get a fresh MBA w/ a relevant background OR just someone with more relevant career skills.
If you really want a job in ER or AM, push for it directly after your MBA. If you can't land it, chances are you will never be able to make that transition.
It all comes down to your pre-MBA experience and your MBA internship. Those two, combined to a lessor extent with your MBA, set you up for your post-MBA role. If you just started your 2nd year, I suggest pushing hard on getting the job you want (maybe do an in-term internship). If you're a class of 2026, it may not be realistic at this point.
Best of luck
okay, thanks for the honesty, im gonna try, but good to know it will be tough. hopefully my rating agency experience will carry some kind of weight
Unrelated to your question - why did you choose to leave credit ratings for an MBA? How was your experience at S&P/Moody’s?
got a full ride and health issues. experience at moody's/s&p was great for a few years, but got boring
What type of treasury role are we talking about? Are you working on debt and equity transactions and meeting with bankers (I.e. cap markets) Or is this true treasury? If true treasury, can you switch to the cap markets team?
Edit: I just read your other comments and I think your best bet is to network internally and make a move onto the cap markets team. From there, exit ops are very good. It will be hard to move from treasury to a non-treasury role externally but doesn’t hurt to toss in applications here and there for roles you are interested in.
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