Associate & Above IB exits
Curious if/where most people exit IB from at associate and above. Still HF, PE, PC, Any AM, Corp Dev?
What is common and what becomes more difficult after the analyst stint?
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I think HF is when ur ready not only after a 2yr analyst program.
so at any point between after analyst to VP? or IB to PE to (maybe M7) to HF? or both & theres no clear path or time in your career?
People exit to hedge funds at MD. Hedge funds are a different ball game, it's all very informal and clubby. It's the only area of finance which hasn't yet been completely dominated by strivers. S&T is probably the other one, but only because all the strivers who can do math go straight to quant funds.
barber
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Stay in banking, startups, PE (although sucks if you do multiple years at associate of vp in banking and restart at associate 1 in PE), HF maybe as an early ish associate, corporate (doesn’t need to be just finance), internal investing arms of the bank. List goes on.
Dang, MS? Brutal crowd 😬
Anybody else here with experience or anecdotes of associate exits? Sort of stuck in a flattening career spiral. I took an A2A promotion due to the money and now I get paid a lot but I’m constantly swamped with work, and with exercise chores friends taking up my free time to preserve sanity, I really don’t have time to recruit or really even think about what I want.
Feels like I don’t have really any good option to exit but that could be the sleep deprivation talking. Any advice on what options exist for A2A associates and at what compensation levels would be helpful. I’ve got six closed M&A deals within my industry group, sellside only haven’t had a buyside close.
I really need to get more sleep. Banking long term isn’t for me but I need to figure out what is for me and how to best position and sell myself in recruitment. I’m stuck in between where I’m not an expert but I’m not an analyst. I’m also used to making $300,000+ now but I recognize I might have to let that go.
If you are looking for a job with more traditional hours (and more sleep). Your expectations for comp should be around $150k. People don’t suck it up and stay in banking for a career because they love it 100% of the time, they do it because the pay cut is drastic.
You won’t love hearing it - but I know bunch who made move to corp dev (for large publics) in particular. 2 came back to banking, 3rd trying to. Got exercise, got a lot of time to hang out w wife / husband, then got bored, missed the $, saw the path being pretty flat, etc.
A nice house in Westchester premium areas cost $3mm+. Annual tax / insurance is 60k+. Just nanny set up w some activities for a 1 yo kid is $50k. Even your current $300k doesn’t get you a whole lot.
You are probably looking at 150-200k + some bonus (10-50k) for a job outside of finance for someone with your experience, would assume the lower end. 80% of what I see from junior associates: strategic finance at a company, investor relations, PE/HF. I haven't seen an analyst/junior associate leave banking to get an MBA since pre-COVID. Take this with a grain of salt.
You are probably looking at 150-200k + some bonus (10-50k) for a job outside of finance for someone with your experience, would assume the lower end. 80% of what I see from junior associates: strategic finance at a company, investor relations, PE/HF. I haven't seen an analyst/junior associate leave banking to get an MBA since pre-COVID. Take this with a grain of salt.
For PE even if you're at a BB (was at one of MS / GS) only saw associates go to LMM or stay at the bank
So are associates just cooked on PE in general if you don’t go during your first 3 years of banking?
Kinda makes sense, but still feels like there could be an opening if you have decent industry knowledge.
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Ignore title, left for PE from banking. Was an Associate for well over a year before landing my current gig at a reputable MM (>$5B fund). It was not easy. The interviews were easy. Getting them was not. Kinda sucks taking a year or two back but it doesn’t matter in the medium/long run. I know I’d be more upset if I didn’t sack up and make the switch.
If you want it and deserve it, you can get it.
Did you go through headhunters for interviews or need to network?
All through HH. Some were snobby and showed me only bad roles they presumably couldn’t fill. Other firms more personable and treated me as they would any other candidate. Snobby ones all but told me “no shot” to my preferences, but here we are.
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