ADVICE - NYC Boutiques

Fellow Monkeys,

I have been mulling over a couple different plans in my effort to break into the world of high finance, and am looking for advice from those that have come before me. My end goal is to land a FT IB analyst role at a boutique in NYC. Here's my situation:

-Graduated 3 years ago with an Econ degree from a complete non-target, no internships, and a 2.9 GPA. Landed an entry level role at a large insurance brokerage (think Marsh, Willis, AON). Have since been promoted and manage 3-4 people. - Moved to greater NY area 3 months ago, and kept my insurance brokerage job from my previous location. I now work 100% remotely and earn enough to support a decent lifestyle (in my mind) in an expensive suburban town, with an easy commute to NYC. -For the last few months I have been working on my modeling skills and reading daily about IB and the world of finance.

Two paths I am considering to reach my goal: 1. Keep doing what I am doing. -Pros: freedom to do more networking, more time to work on my hard skills, keeping the job shows I am not hopping around -Cons: unrelated industry, may have to keep doing this for a long time before something I want materializes, working at home is nice but I am not meeting many people in a new city.

2. Get a job more closely related to IB in NYC (credit analyst, back office role at an IB, retail banking), do this for a year and then try to make the move. -Pros: more relevant experience, opportunity to gain more contacts and insight into IB (I think), meet more people in general (not just industry) in a new city. -Cons: less free time for networking and studying, still will take a while to get the role I want, costs for commuting and a dog walker.

Please tell me where I am wrong or unrealistic, ask any clarifying questions and if you can, provide some guidance on the best approach to reaching my end goal. I haven't thought much about an MBA but if that seems the only possible route, please let me know.