MF vs. HF - Career Decision
Context:
- Current Senior at a Top Target (H,Y,S)
- (Very) Low Income family background
- Under crippling Student Debt
- Planning on helping out my family in the future, (Parents medical bills/debt etc, Paying my brother & sister’s School)
Choice to make:
Have to possibility of joining a MF (BX, KKR, Warburg) and a MM Platform with an established PM (P72, C) out of undergrad
Advice needed:
Always been interested in Public Markets, definitely more interesting in my view than PE. It seems though at this point that my career NPV is higher down the PE route.
- How should I structure my thinking and approach this decision ?
- What is the median outcome for a PM/Senior Analyst at a big 4 MM ? (even if I have the conviction that I’ll outperform my peers)
Thanks for the advice big bro. I however genuinely have no idea what it looks like a few years down the line (would assume that the median pod is losing money/at breakeven - but beyond that no idea)
considering your background... there is no doubt that you should join the PE program out of school. MM seats will always be there and PE analyst program will give you more stability and optionality to explore what you actually want to do
I don’t understand how you could be a HYS with a low income background and have crippling student debt, thought they all had pretty generous financial aid for low income students
Regardless of that, would take the PE analyst role for sure. The pods are not going anywhere and your career will have better optionality / downside protection with the PE analyst background + if you decide you want a shot at SMs that will position you well for it
Western Euro National from a country which US Schools stopped most Financial Aid...
As someone who just did recruiting and also at H/S/W + SM HF + GS TMT/PJT RSSG/EVR M&A (middle class), just take the PE option. H/Y/S + BX/KKR/WP will set you up for much better seats than pods at places like Tiger Cubs, Elliott, or if you want, Citadel.
Same back and agree
Everyone said it best. No reason to take a pod job out of school if you have the PE option. The pod job will always be there for you whereas you can’t go the other way around.
Id echo the consensus advice here to take the PE role, pay down debt, and then move to a hedge fund after 2-4 years if that’s your true passion. PE allows for low risk near-guaranteed deleveraging and tons of future optionality. MM hedge fund you’re at the mercy of your PMs PNL and you and the entire team can get shit-canned extremely fast.
That said, you do need to make sure you follow your true passion eventually as it becomes difficult to sustain the grind in any high finance job without a deep desire to succeed. You may feel you have that fire now for either role but after 10+ years (when the real money is made) it’s difficult to sustain without that true passion.
- How should I structure my thinking and approach this decision ?
Take the more predictable PE job and get out of your own debt first. It's great that you want to help out your family as well, but I would advise being careful about how much you put your life on hold for this. Think of that more like an equity obligation, give proportional to your success and once you get here focus on whats best for your long run EV.
- What is the median outcome for a PM/Senior Analyst at a big 4 MM ? (even if I have the conviction that I’ll outperform my peers)
A senior analyst or junior PM running a sleeve doing "meh" earns $0.5-1mm and has mediocre to bad seat stability. $2-4mm is doable in this range if you're really good, with opportunities to move to a full PM seat. PM comp is a lot higher and is where the potential to rapidly outpace PE exists (can earn 10s of millions in the span of a few years, in as early as your late 20s / early 30s. Not at all close to median but happens). If you know you ultimately prefer public markets, explain your situation to the platform and keep that bridge open. They will keep tabs on you and hire you when the timing is right.
Thanks a lot for the detailed write up, really appreciate it! (Please hire me when I'm unlevered in a few years...)
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