Case for making IB transition?

Hi All -

Currently in big 4 consulting making $150k base and ~10% bonus with 4 years of experience (26 years old).

I’ve always been interested in investment banking, but was sort of behind the curve applying in undergrad, and ended up in big 4 consulting. The flexibility is great, rarely work more than 50-55 hours a week, and I’m consistently rated in the “top bucket” without sacrificing too much of my personal life.

Although I have a pretty “chill” gig here, I’m terribly bored with my career. I’m really motivated to improve and advance my career, but don’t feel like I can in my current position. Even if I dedicated more time to my current job, my compensation trajectory/promotion timelines would remain the same, given that I’m already getting the top performance rating and my team is supporting my promotion case for this upcoming year.

I’m concerned that my only route into IB is through an MBA. I have a strong UG background from a top 20-30 school and 3.8 GPA and quantitative coursework, so I think a solid GMAT would get me into an M7. The MBA route, however, would cost $200K and require foregoing an additional 300-400k for two years of income (not to mention 2 years of career growth in consulting). Assuming I entered my MBA with a graduation in 2027 or 2028, I would be starting in IB at age 29-30, making the same or less money than I would be making if I stay in my current career. The alternative would be staying where I am and pushing forward to the SM level in the next 4-5 years (compensation 300K+), but then I would be entirely pidgeon-holed in my current consulting track.

I know in the long run the comp in IB would eventually make up for the upfront investment, but the pay off would take a long time(5-10 years) to break even and require a significant sacrifice in terms of WLB and lifestyle.

Do you think it’s possible to make this transition without getting an MBA? I have great finance/accounting and quantitative skills having consulted in the FP&A and data/analytics space.

For anyone who has been in a similar position and gone the MBA route to break into IB, was it worth it?

Appreciate any and all thoughts. Thanks in advance for the time.