Advices on my M&A career

Hi! I need your advices about my future career in M&A.

My background: - Living in Benelux (Europe) - Master’s degree in Management with a major in Finance (magna cum laude) - 22 years old and no relevant work experience - Long term goal (35-40 years old): CFO of a middle-sized company or CEO of my own company

I need your advices on the career path I should take as I have three work offers in M&A: 1) Small M&A boutique, in my home town, (relative low COL) working on small-sized deals. 2) Big4 M&A, in the capital city, (relative high COL) working on middle-sized deals. 3) Elite Boutique, in the capital city, working on middle-sized deals.

In my opinion the pros for each path are: Pros of boutique: great exposure to C-level, high work diversity, high responsibility, on average 40-50 working hours/week (thus, higher salary/hours worked ratio). Pros of Big4: a way to meet young graduates (and to build a strong network and make friends), quite prestigious. Pros of EB: very prestigious, working with very intelligent people, higher salary.

What are your thoughts? What path should I choose?

NB: If I can provide with more details on anything, feel free to ask!

4 Comments
 

Quis autem est tenetur occaecati. Magnam ratione quia aperiam non quia eveniet. Architecto odit et omnis veniam quas voluptatum autem. Sit rem repudiandae aut consequuntur. Quibusdam deleniti maiores consequatur vero.

A omnis quod omnis quia voluptatem. Voluptates doloribus qui molestiae nihil voluptas ut ut eum. Iure tenetur quae laborum rerum. Dicta alias qui non repudiandae voluptatibus. Rerum dolor explicabo maiores nesciunt unde omnis quo. Minima voluptatem occaecati veniam. Aliquam cum ut sunt corrupti.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • 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 97.8%
  • 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 (14) $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
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”