Help!!! IB vs HF
Hey everyone,
I just graduated and I am stuck between two very different options.
Option A: A brand-name investment bank in the Middle East. Because of the comp structure and family situation, I could basically save almost every penny. That is huge in terms of financial cushion. The problem is that when I interned there, I felt like I was not very good, especially at basic things like PowerPoint. I also worry the learning curve will be slower.
Option B: A mid-sized hedge fund in New York. Smaller team, more exposure, and if I do well, I could grow much faster than in banking. At the same time, the risk is real. Cost of living is high, taxes cut into take-home pay, and if I underperform, I could be out quickly.
So I am torn. Do I take the safer route where I can build savings and optionality even if the learning curve feels flatter? Or do I take the leap into the fund world, accept the risk, and bet on myself for faster growth?
Would really appreciate any perspective from people who have faced similar decisions.
This is actually a tough one. I would question the learning curve point. You might get better, more structured training at the IB which is worth something. But hard not to take buyside
Go do banking. It is almost never worth going to a HF right out of undergrad and you will get plenty of opportunities to recruit after one year. And probably recruit at better funds. You will get trained in banking.
Only you can answer this question for yourself. Higher risk --> Higher return. Figure out where you are on the risk tolerance curve and take into account your future life goals.
The argument that you can recruit better if you do IB instead of joining HF out of college is not true imo. One of the biggest pros of being in the buyside and having a seat at the table is that you get to network with other HF analysts and PMs, discuss ideas and so on.
If you have passion for public equities, just go for it. I did the same and now have the privilege to talk to people everyday who I could not have fathomed ever meeting if I was at an IB. If you're skilled you'll impress other PMs and analysts down the road which will help you recruit better regardless. Should be worth noting that someone already coming from the buyside will always have higher preference with PMs who are hiring because they don't have to teach you stuff from scratch and you can hit the ground running.
What is true though, is that the learning curve is very steep if you go straight to buyside. You're going to make a lot of mistakes inevitably and having a good PM ultimately helps, both performance and behavior wise. But if you can grind then the fruits of labor will be much sweeter.
Are you an NYUAD student?
B and don't look back
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