Army Reserve/AD commission?
Currently in my second year of college (MSII) and thinking about whether I should commission active duty or reserve. AD would be 4 years all at once, maybe get an MBA but preferably jump right into workforce if possible.
Currently my technicals and internship experiences are solid so it wouldn’t be impossible to join right after separation as a 26yr old analyst, maybe as associate.
Alternative would be an 8 yr reserve contract but it’d look far more unpredictable to employers, would most likely deploy depending on the cycle of my unit, and it’d be a lot of additional work on the weekends/during free time which could detract from my work potentially in IB/PE. Also have to digest that I could be sent anywhere up until I’m 30.
Has anyone managed to do reserves as an officer and IB/PE/Credit? Would love to hear any suggestions or advice to help me plan my college and career timeline accordingly.
I know numerous Army Reserve officers who commissioned, did IB, then PE. These guys graduated anywhere from the early 2000s to late 2010s and were able to maintain momentum in their finance career over the eight years with hard breaks in time for BOLC and deployments. A high percentage of those guys all went to large reputable shops for both IB and PE and not some random five person firm.
As a reference point, I am an active duty officer going straight from active duty to a FT IB analyst position.
For what it is worth, I think the active duty experience is a better path. You get to concentrate on being the best officer and leader of Soldiers you can be. While the training events you get to do on active duty are similar to those in the reserves, you get a lot more interaction with Soldiers on active duty. Since you are responsible for your Soldiers, the good and bad, getting reps of dealing with the inevitable ups and downs of Soldiers has pushed my emotional maturity well past my current age. While deployments have fizzled out, I have experience dealing with Soldier training deaths, Soldier substance abuse issues, Soldiers committing felonies, and Soldier suicide. Being in your mid 20s with no life experience outside of college and the military, and having a bunch of 18 - 32 year old Soldiers looking to you for answers about why their best friend shot himself, while also trying to comfort his parents, is not a position I thought I would ever be in. He was a great young man, and I would swap places with him today if it would bring him back. Since I can’t, I have done my best to learn from it. It changed my perspective on life and taught me how to deal with the worst of situations.
On the positive side, I have also had Soldiers ask me to be the best man at their wedding, be the first call when their kids were born, help them get into college, teach them personal finance, find counseling resources to strengthen their marriages, and help get their family members the right medical care halfway around the world. Happy to hear a different perspective, but I believe the job as an active duty officer, if you train hard and do right by your Soldiers, is an experience you cannot get anywhere else. I do not think you will get the same experience being a citizen Soldier.
Then, once you are done being the best officer you can be, you can dedicate your professional life to being the best IB/PE professional you can be.
TLDR: Yes you can go reserve and do IB/PE. If you do commission, I recommend you go active duty because it offers you experiences you cannot get in the reserves.
Incredibly helpful advice! Can we discuss further?
Absolutely. Happy to discuss here to benefit other users. If it is too personal for here, send me a DM.
Former NG 11A/MBA to FT IB here-
Echoing some of the points made in the previous comments I would add that you should NOT attempt IB if you’re wanting to branch combat arms. I would further add that regardless of preference you should pursue the Reserves over the Natty Guard. This is all within the last five years so may be more up to date advice. On the corporate side, when I was in the Guard I was working in PWM at a “BB” with no vets in my office so had trouble managing workloads between the two hats and developing the relationships of the corporate hierarchy while taking an aggregate 3-5 weeks a year aside from vacations. Of course they thought it was cool introducing me in client calls as the token vetbro but once Thursday rolls around and I’m pencils down until Monday for MUTA 6s I could see them getting aggravated that 20% of their team is gone regardless of how large the pitch/project is. Maybe it was just the shop I was at and you can do better. Just know if you do pursue RC and finance that at a very high level you’ll simply be a junior that seniors don’t know has the capacity to handle high profile deal flow because they don’t know you’re units OPTEMPO and that lack of high profile deals combined with the time away from the team may hurt your standing once promoting and bonus season rolls around. On Army side, coming from an Infantry unit your Joes will think it’s cool that their PL/XO/CO also works in finance. Prepare to be the POC for all your joes financial trouble and there will always be guys pitching the next hot stock or shitcoin (all of which I really enjoyed). However, other officers who are working “lesser” jobs may see you making good money and that the joes like you and see it as threatening. My first CO was a cop and he thoroughly enjoyed being a pain in my ass cuz he liked the power trip cuz to him you’re a 20 somethings “finance bro” and you blow all your money on coke and hookers and blah blah blah. The deployments are shit. It’s not 10-15 years ago where you’re going overseas to scissor kick the taliban or donkey punch ISIS. You’ll be doin bullshit in Kosovo or Germany, nothing world saving. Not to mention the surprise month long trips to Polk or NTC. All during “peace time” when line units are nowhere close to combat deployments. COVID, Riots, Bullshit Guard missions (my unit worked as prison guards for a while cuz the state government didn’t wanna pay cops more money to do it) all add up and it gets hard. I feel like I was in your shoes a few years ago trying to decide Active Duty or Grunt/Finance superhero too. If I could go back, I’d go AD. Wall Street ain’t goin anywhere but the chance to grab the boys and blow shit up sleeping in the woods end faster than you think. Enjoy it while you can. I couldn’t hack it anymore so got out, MBA, FT IB in a bit. Sounds odd but it’ll be an easier life cuz the pendulum won’t swing as far back and forth. Maybe all this is wrong cuz you’re built different and more high speed than I was, it’s very possible. You don’t have to make this decision till ur an MSIV anyway to weigh it all out after CST. Enjoy the weekend cadet and happy vets day weekend. TLDR: 1) AD 2) POG Reserve 3) See 1&2
Someone I know well was in a similar situation. PM me if you like
Bump seeking more answers
Also former AD 11A. Not reserves but maybe my experience can provide another helpful perspective. Went to a semi target and had a final round with MBB that I turned down once I was able to go AD. I loved my time in and wouldn’t trade it for the world, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t behind my peers in my career. That being said, I didn’t go the MBA route after my initial 4 years (thought I didn’t need it and was a waste of money, but probably would’ve been worth it in the long run). Did corp strategy where they paid for Master’s in Energy policy and now working at a large PF player in the energy space. Most of my college friends are VPs/Directors in IB whereas I’ve probably got another 4 years to get there at least. Just something to keep in mind.
My mindset was very much wanting to be all in when in the army. I didn’t want to have 1 foot in 2 different worlds doing reserves/NG. MBB consulting was my dream in college and I sometimes wondered where my career would be right now if I had done reserves, but my career passions/interests shifted a fair bit since then and I developed life long relationships with fellow Os and enlisted that I wouldn’t give up for the world…I no longer wonder “what could have been”. After having spent a fair amount of time in the corporate world, I recognize I may never experience that same camaraderie again in my life, so I’m thankful for that as well.
Again, this was my experience and my thought process during my time as a student and in hindsight as a civilian now. The Veteran -> MBA route seems to be more and more popular now than it was even when I was in, so I imagine that will continue to be more competitive but ultimately I think that’s a great way to transition your career after doing your 4 year commitment in AD if that’s what you choose.
Anyone managed to do NGSF/18 Series w/ deployments while in IB/PE/HF?
Bumping again now that I have offers to juggle/consider — the money and experience looks great but trying to gauge if its realistic to do IB+reserves
Bumping again now that I have offers to juggle/consider — the money and experience looks great but trying to gauge if its realistic to do IB+reserves
Bumping again now that I have offers to juggle/consider — the money and experience looks great but trying to gauge if its realistic to do IB+reserves
Going through this as well. Happy to talk through it together.
bump
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