Didn’t Break Into “Prestige” Finance? You Can Still Make Bank
Graduated from a state school this year in one of the worst markets in recent memory. I was gunning for IBD like everyone else, barely got any interviews, zero offers.
Had two options: 1. Boutique PE analyst offer in NYC (last-resort play, horribly long hours, mediocre pay) 2. Financial Analyst role at an insurance company (hybrid, cushy, less “sexy”)
I picked insurance. Now I: • Work maybe 2-4 hours a day • Am home by 4:30pm every day • Go into the office only 2x/week • Make close to 6 figures out of uni
Meanwhile, my friends in “prestige” finance are working 80+ hours and living for the weekend… when they aren’t sleeping through it.
the kicker is if I really want to pivot into IBD later, I can build my profile and go for a T10 MBA. Doors aren’t shut.
Everyone here worships at the altar of IBD → PE → HF, but there are other ways to make great money, keep your sanity, and still have optionality. Prestige is cool until you realize you’ve traded your 20s for a LinkedIn headline.
I’d never root against you, and I hope you succeed. However, there are some flaws in this logic:
1. If you’re truly working 2-4 hours/day, you’re probably not getting meaningful experience that will allow you to grow in your current role, making it hard to leave for an “upgrade”
2 Business school is not a guarantee of an IB/PE job - as these roles become more competitive, banks and PE firms will likely be more discerning over who they take post-MBA
3. Even if you do break into IB, you’re just delaying the 80-hour weeks, not eliminating them - it’s not like you get an MBA on 0 finance experience and a ironically bypass the “grunt work” phase
The 2–4 hours I mentioned is just the amount of actual hands-on work I’m doing right now because onboarding here is super chill and the workflow is very manageable. tl-dr still getting exposure, just at a much more chill pace.
I’m also not under any illusion about the grunt work in IB/PE. I had a PE internship in college, and the hours were brutal. It’s honestly a blur, but I still learned a lot from it and understand exactly what that life entails.
Long-term, my plan is to build experience here, then use an MBA in ~5 years to lateral into something more prestigious
I’m just not sad right now about the cards i’ve been dealt if you get what i’m saying :)
I have a close friend in a very similar boat to you - he works a “9-5” that’s really 2-4 hours of daily work in consulting.
I think that you, like him, do have a path. You can get a T15 MBA (for this, I recommend volunteering, going all out to get a near-perfect GMAT, and crafting a “story”) and, at a minimum, probably land something in MM IB (perhaps even BB).
However, this will cost you $200k more (even more than that, in terms of lost earnings) and save you exactly 0 effort hours vs had you gone into IB out of undergrad. It’s not a hack, more a deferral.
So, yes, your ceiling is high - you can achieve what you could have had you gone into IB right away. You’re not saving yourself time or money, however.
Do you have any advice for building said skillsets? In a similar role to OP, where I do fundamental analysis on IG credit for a large (400b+ AUM) insurance firm. Grinding my ass off to learn as much as possible, but I’m concerned the lack of financial modeling and risk averse strategy is going to pidgeon hole me.
I don’t think I’m a personality match for IB, I just know that I want to be in a position where my pay is correlated to the effort and skill I can put into my work. Thanks!
is IG credit not a good place to be? what is your reason to move into IB? curious
This only works if the other gig is in an actual LCOL. Otherwise, the earnings growth won’t keep up
You’re making $90k/yr. In insurance. Working 2-4 hours a day. But this is fine, because you can just “get an MBA” and because you totally know how to work in PE (because of your internship!). Your title is true, but you’re not an example of someone that took some nontrad path into a lucrative role. This post isn’t helpful for anyone at all, which makes it obvious that you’re coping. Not like you turned down a real IB/PE offer for the role you took, either.
You’re a guy that’s wasting the start of his career by building 0 desirable skills (or being given meaningless work) and you clearly have no grit or plan to progress further. Your plan is to keep coasting, then get an MBA (costs 6 figs), be handed a cushy lucrative career, and just skip the part where you have to grind your ass off…? And for some reason you’re scrolling thru (and posting on) an IB/PE forum, despite working in an unrelated field? Cut the BS and quit making yourself miserable by browsing WSO.
absolutely slaughtered him lmao (agree on cope)
Your peers in IB make 2-3x each year at the same age and that multiple expands over time
Not saying there is an objectively better choice, but there are trade offs and advantages either side
Agreed..but 2x is hopeful, 3x is not happening, no one’s making 270k as an IB An1
Until you get to associate
surprised at the level of salty comments on here. just let bro be happy
OP seems like he's trying to justify his choices while being ever so slightly snarky towards people in IB so not surprised by the responses
You came to an IB forum to tell us this?
This reads less like you're proud of your current career and more like you're trying to get validation that your plans make any sense (they don't).
I'd much rather "waste my 20s" grinding out long weeks and 7 years post grad (your ~5 yrs of insurance experience + 2 for MBA) have a more balanced lifestyle and great comp because of my experience. Meanwhile at 7 years post grad you'd just be entering the IB / PE world and beginning the grunt work. 5 years of insurance work and an MBA won't let you dodge that.
If you're truly happy with your current career, that's fantastic. Go sell the world insurance.
But don't come here to tell us you've somehow cracked the code when you haven't.
I think people here are being too harsh to OP. Ignore title, I'm a 2nd year investments analyst at a known shop and working long hours is definitely not it.
Was I cocky going in, even with my internships being shitty? Yes, and my first year was hell but I am finally up to speed and am eternally glad that I got through it. However, even though I am glad the bulk of the initial learning curve is behind me, I recognize a lot of what ticked me off were the bosses and the unecessary BS. At times, I wanted to quit so badly but I powered through knowing that my end goal was to be an investor.
However, my friends see it differently and they work at EBs/BBs. They work worse hours than me and they hate their lives, with all of them barely having time to eat, sleep, see family, etc. Even though they have gotten past the first year, a majority of them don't see themselves being in IB/PE/HF for life and want to switch to a more chill job.
In short, what truly matters to you? Does going into IB/PE fit into who want to be at 35 or beyond? The exit opps are overexaggerated esp. in this market. Pay has gone to shit (relatively) so it's harder to justify the shit your MD gives you just to belittle you for no reason. I think this site has tunnel vision in thinking that IB/PE/HF is the only/best way to make money. Someone can go into FP&A and be richer than an ibanker at 35 based on risk tolerance. And if you only work for 2 years and get out, the additional bonus isn't gonna look too insane in your bank account with the rising cost of living rapidly outpacing banker's salaries.
With that being said, OP if you are content with your situation there isn't a need to gloat too much. You know deep down whether you are gaining relevant skills or not, and if it aligns with your career goals you're golden. Working at a bank has helped me move closer to my goals so I can't complain, but people need to consider how much they value (usually) a stable career path with high pay at the expense of their soul.
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