2 potential career moves, which should I pick?

I'm currently at a big 4 firm doing financial statement assurance. I have my CPA license and am at a crossroads about what to do next.

I have an opportunity at a decently sized bank (~300m in assets). It's attractive salary/industry-wise and would allow me to get my foot in the door at a bank. The job is at the associate level in the credit products group which essentially would involve me preparing and reviewing due diligence on companies to assess credit worthiness, but I'm unsure how that type of role is viewed and I'm worried I may pigeonhole myself out of a true IB role. I also have talked to my current firm and think there's a good chance I could lateral into a transaction advisory role within the next year. The plan would then be to then switch to an IB role after a year or two of experience there.

If my eventual goal is to break into IB or other type of high finance role, what is the best option?

1 Comments
 

Consequuntur mollitia quia impedit qui. Qui ut ut non. Enim ad sed deserunt quo et.

Omnis excepturi eius omnis consequatur placeat eos molestiae corporis. Saepe et ad nobis magni. Et aut natus consequuntur. Accusantium asperiores quis sed dolores aliquid corrupti.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”