18 Comments
 

Never heard of one. I just assume all the 3rd year analysts kill themselves when faced with the prospect of a 4th year.

- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

Lol if your a 4th year analyst maybe finance isn't for you.......

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1man2nvLol if your a 4th year analyst maybe finance isn't for you.......

This is the answer to your problems/question.

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 
Best Response

I'm going to step in here, and i'm an associate at a reputable MM, did the A to A. Disclaimer: I did not have to do a fourth year.

To the comment, "If you were offered a fourth year analyst role" "finance isn't for you" is flat out incorrect.

Let's face it, the majority of analysts do not work at top groups that are recruited heavily by top PE firms. Sure, many analysts can get jobs in MM PE. The thing is, these roles, generally do not pay as much as going analyst to associate. Going A to A, depending on the bank's bonus cycle, you get a third year bonus, sign on bonus, stub bonus 6 months later, and full year associate bonus another year later. Allot of $, and allot of analysts in these non-sweatshop groups are fine with staying on the sell-side. Contradicting common belief, there ARE investment banking groups with good cultures. Sure, hours suck anywhere, but every group isn't a 9-3 AM mon-sun shop. In fact, most are far from.

I suspect the vast majority of A to A's are not in sweatshop groups. Secondly, A to A's generally work WAY less than first year MBA's, they are more efficient and know how to do things / get staffed on the best projects. One sample size is that, at my BB, A to A's worked on average, I'd say 20 less hours a week than first year MBA's.

To answer the question on the "4th year -" a 5 ranked third year analyst may make a shit associate. An associate role REQUIRES maturity. For all you high school seniors posting (1man2nv?), I'll write that again. Compared to an analyst role, an associate role REQUIRES maturity. Many banks realize they have talented analysts, but are just too young and not mature enough to fill that associate spot, hence, they offer them a fourth year role.

Hope this helps. I will not be answering PMs.

 

Not sure if people will see your response, that thread is 3 years old...

Have a question you may be able to shed light on given your detailed answer - how common is it for an analyst to be promoted to associate after just 2 years as an analyst?

 

re: 2 years, allot of banks (i.e GS) are shifting to this model to retain analyst. As i've read frequently on WSO, a third analyst year is essentially a cheap associate.

Other banks who have this 3 year rule, I haven't seen an early promote often myself. At my bank, people have argued for it (mainly lateral analysts who have a couple of years of non-IB experience and try to spin the maturity / work experience factor), but it didn't work.

 

Cool, thanks - what do you think needs to happen for it to be done (I'm heading into FT at non GS BB)? Assuming great deal exp., great technical skills, well-liked etc - anything less obvious?

Also (started another thread for this) I'm considering banking long-term but want an MBA as well (for various reasons). If I do 3 analyst years then 1-2 as an associate and then do an MBA, will banks hire me as a 3rd year associate/VP (if applicable) or do they only hire 1st year associates from MBA programs? Any info on this?

Thanks for your help

 

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