3rd Year Investment Banking Analyst

NTD: I've focused more on the pros, since I think people on this forum generally lean towards being pro-PE rather than banking

Pros:

1. You're already established. Your superiors will already trust you (they have to, if you're receiving an extension to your contract) and you won't have to put in as much nonsense face time - by this point, they should know you get your work done.

2. You'll be able to delegate crappier tasks to your juniors, while you will most likely be the most junior person at whatever type of buy side shop you go to. Depending on the staffing model of your team, this could also allow you to get better and more interesting deal flow.

3. Depending on your bank vs. exit opps, you might get better pay as a 3rd year than as a 1st year associate on the buy side. Especially true for e.g. middle market PE shops or credit funds. Your IB team will likely be trying to keep you on as an associate, and will give you a big bonus to sweeten the deal.

4. You already know your team and work/life balance, while it can be hard to gauge a new job based just on interviews. The devil you know, right?

Cons:

1. Work is generally less interesting (IMO) on the sell side. Being a middle man vs. making investment decisions and all of that stereotypical stuff.

2. You might be pigeon-holed into banking, especially if you tried and failed to recruit for the buy side. Could make things more difficult down the road if you decide to switch, but not necessarily. Anecdotally I've heard this really only starts once you're an associate proper, but there isn't really any data I'm aware of.

3. Hours are most likely worse in banking, being on call for clients and such. Duh.