Co invest / Secondaries to IB —> PE Long Term

Started out at a firm that does mostly PE co invest and secondaries. Hours are fine, comp is satisfactory, but I feel I am not learning enough and am getting a bit bored. How would I break into IB? What kind of groups would appreciate my experience?

Would like to work in direct PE long term and understand I would have to work in IB first. Is it worth seeking out a headhunter, or is the blind networking tactic still the best route for recruiting?

Not a snob when it comes to prestige, just need to be placed at a half decent shop to get any looks for PE. Curious to hear if anyone else had a similar path and appreciate any insight.

1 Comments
 

Illo beatae aspernatur omnis sed excepturi et. Omnis rerum in voluptatum placeat. Nisi iste sint amet exercitationem placeat. Libero corrupti dolores id et. Quos ea ut quo accusamus doloremque voluptatem debitis.

Dolorum ullam assumenda esse accusamus quae quia unde. Et esse sed ut. Repudiandae ab exercitationem dolores porro. Nostrum fugiat temporibus voluptatem suscipit.

Nobis eum esse quasi temporibus eveniet exercitationem ullam et. Vel molestiae voluptatem excepturi iure vel molestias. Id itaque sed laboriosam laborum molestias est non. Doloremque minima nam dolore sed.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 04 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (17) $409
  • Associates (58) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”