Was an intern in one of those 3 teams (also put all three in my top 3 preferences) - would go for either TMT or Industrials. LevFin's seen as marginally better (top team at DB etc) but it's a different experience than coverage, more gruelling work/worse culture and I've seen better exit opps (mostly through lateralling to a better BB first) from TMT/Industrials

 

The head of the industrials team is a rainmaker but it's a tough grind. Good learning experience tho. The best sub-vertical for both deal flow and exits is business services. Recent exits include PAI and Hg.

 
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Depends on what you want. LevFin is firing not hiring, team went from 35 last year to 20 right now, with most people sent out on rotations (bunch of them quit) or fired. They even fired an A1 just 2 weeks after he hit the desk. Also, they’ve done about 5 transactions since mid-last year, which can provide some insight on the mood down there. 
 

Industrials culture is absolutely brutal, think 4 am nights multiple times a week, they're always the last to leave the desks, but very strong deal flow. 
 

TMT has a lot of people staying in the mid term, as in A2A, and that team has also been on the rise in terms of headcount - and the juniors don’t seem to hate their lives (unlike industrials).
 

Remember - the team doing a lot of deals doesn’t necessarily benefit you too much, especially as an analyst. 
 

 

Ultimately, one can say that TMT has better culture than Industrials and juniors get well protected and appreciated, yet one can be wrong as maybe Industrial / LDCM analysts get better learning curve and in long term they benefit more. Eventually, all goes to what you really want to optimise for as you cannot optimise for everything. 

If you want to optimise for work quality / learning curve and work / life balance - it will be very difficult to do it in any team - ultimately, IBD is like a gym - the more weights you can lift, the more interesting projects you will get. 

LDCM is pretty demanding team and you would really need to contribute and deliver to convert there and return to them. I have heard, and do not quote me, for summer they only gave 2 return offers out of 5 interns they took. Have been told one of those two that got offer decided not to go back. One LDCM intern with general offer i.e. not return to LDCM, eventually found home in another DB team whilst other still searching / moved to the general pool.
 

On the exit options - after a few years in the industry - have seen my share of some crazy exits - guys going from third tier bank research teams to top hedge funds and ending up there alongside top ranked JPM / MS / GS analysts.  At some point, sadly, the prestige fades, and your skills / grit / connectivity becomes the key driver if you are hired or not.
 

Needless to say, friendly word from your associate / VP to investment executive at PE or recruiter may help you getting an interview, but will not make you hire. 

On the last note - that Consumer Tech / Internet MD mentioned by a fellow poster - definitely great one to work for - he knows the space, brings deals and generally you will learn loads.

 

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