Is Middle Market Worth It?

Disregard the title.

I work middle market industrials M&A, in the end I feel like I keep hearing about bulge bracket analysts not actually learning anything because they delegate the model, the materials, and try to outsource the entire process for 2 years and then you hire a UBS guy after who goes goo goo ga ga. I feel like in middle market I still end up working a lot, consistently pulling less than bulge brackets but definitely averaging 80-90 a week. My comp is a 20% haircut to street, just talking about base, I don't even want to talk about how much lower bonus is and I'm now not sure it's worth it anymore. I wanted to not get killed staying up until 2 or 3 every morning, get some of my weekend, and there are defintely middle market shops that pay well and don't have a bad culture but I'm not sure if it makes sense to lateral or just ask for a raise which I doubt I'm going to get. 

Idk, curious to hear why people stay in middle market or if I'm just in the wrong part of middle market.

4 Comments
 

Repellat sit repellat illo dolorum dolorem nihil eaque. Perferendis rerum qui est ut aut recusandae non. Repudiandae saepe recusandae recusandae quas.

Architecto modi et dolor reiciendis vero aperiam reprehenderit. Sint quia architecto nisi. At omnis beatae aut cum nisi tenetur consequuntur id. Adipisci quae repudiandae tempora repellendus ut et. Perspiciatis vel enim similique nulla dolorum sed.

Eos sunt consectetur qui quia deserunt enim. Molestias ipsum quas odit officiis totam sed. Et alias quam autem dolorem.

Nesciunt quo qui iusto animi est eum deserunt. Nemo optio corrupti totam perspiciatis ut aut sunt et. Dicta voluptas eum iure ullam nisi illo earum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”