HELP NEEDED! Conflicted about career path.

In the medium term I aspire to break into a hedge fund as an analyst. The type of funds I'm most interested in are value funds , long/short. I am a micro rather than micro man.

IB does not appeal to me. From all I have read (all 72 pages of articles in WSO hedge fund section) it seems that Equity research is thus my best option. I fear however that by taking this route you become pigeon holed in you specialist area. My questions:

1) Is it true that you become pigeonholed in your specialist sector?

2) Is buy side investment/Asset Management at IB or a mega-fund (fiedeliy-esque) another possible route, if so how realistic is it, more so than equity research.

3) Is an MBA in a finance at a target school after 2 years in ER/asset mngmt a good idea or could I shoot straight for Hedge fund after these roles?

4) I currently have S&T internship at Citi should I ask to transfer to ER?

8 Comments
 

Well because I enjoy the analysis of companies - modelling, valuation and additionally would like to eventually get headhunted or apply to a long/short or valued based hedge fund as an analyst With these to credentials I was under the impression equity research is a better option for me. I don't understand why ER is considered so much less prestigious than S&T. Do you still think S&T is a better option for me?

 
IMFUTUREFrom all I have read (all 72 pages of articles in WSO hedge fund section)

I see you may have missed my HF posts. Please do double back.

And for the record there's no answer to Traders vs HF Value who-makes-more-money arguments. It all depends on firm and performance.

 

Velit ad molestias error aliquam id ut et delectus. Maiores aut eum quo et sed veritatis laboriosam. Eos quo sit tenetur assumenda vitae sed.

Error laboriosam vel fuga voluptas. Facilis magni ut excepturi. Dolores nihil et qui vero quia est. Eius dolore ea commodi repellat provident cum.

Eum accusamus porro quae soluta quia quae facilis. Incidunt aperiam qui exercitationem ipsum.

Minus quam dolorem quo temporibus nostrum quia optio. Qui quo quos sed vel unde hic nemo. Omnis optio dolores nemo. Sed accusantium alias aut sequi sint.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.0%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.0%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.0%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 94.9%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (11) $372
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (83) $287
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $193
  • Analysts (233) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (276) $95
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”