Disappointed in SA offer…
Hi all,
I am a student at a semi-target (T20) who recently accepted a SA offer at a medium-tier MM investment bank (think BMO, RBC size). I made the decision to accept after considering the risk of not getting any offers, weighing it against the opportunity to receive better offers, and decided to play it safe and "get my foot in the door" for IB. In other words, “one bird in hand > 2 birds in the bush”.
Was this decision valid?
Also, I have struggled to feel a sense of contentment after receiving the offer, and am primarily concerned that this firm may not be the best starting point for me in terms of prestige for exit opps as compared to some of my peers. I am open to lateraling to BB as well as exploring PE.
Do any of you have advice for such thoughts?
I recognize that some people haven't received offers, and do not intend for this post to sound like a "troll" and be trivial or pretentious. These are merely a few genuine questions, so any advice is appreciated.
Honestly I think banks like RBC and BMO are fine to do a summer analyst program at. And I’m assuming you were probably a very qualified candidate who interviewed well and just took the offer because it was exploding and other banks wouldn’t expedite your application. I know several very smart people from targets who had similar experiences and decided to take offers with banks like those you listed above. You can also re-recruit for FT if you truly dislike your summer analyst experience and want to lateral to a BB or EB or just another MM. Just remember that the market conditions currently are tough for prospective bankers since lots of banks are downsizing their groups.
I was in your exact same position and took my return offer as well, then ended up lateraling to an EB. It's not the end of the world to start at a solid MM shop. Of course I had some envy deep down inside for my peers who got to start their careers at 'better' banks, but I got over it and just decided to focus on myself and stop comparing to others.
These humble brag posts are really getting out of control. Why can’t the mods censor these posts, instead of my troll posts?
Once you graduate, you’ll realize the prestige matters a lot less than you think now. Those banks are fantastic places to work and many people have prosperous careers there! Give yourself a high five for getting a great offer in a rough market. If you like the internship and team, maybe you’ll even go back. You’ll get the same skills as your peers at BB and EB.
You're never going to be happy if you keep buying into 95% of the bullshit on this site. You're allowing sentiments from others, predominately children who have never worked full-time but parrot each other and extrapolate anecdotes from actual professionals to the extent that you'd think they know everything about corporate america, to influence how you feel about what would otherwise be a great accomplishment.
Run-on aside, I'm happy to offer a dissenting view.... get a grip.
You're talking about contentment, or lack of, after receiving an internship offer, which doesn't even start for a year. You're concerned about exit opps before ever stepping foot in an office. As much as you think you know about this job, you've never done it. As much as you think you know exactly what you want to do, that will likely change 4-5 times in the next 5 years based on your actual experiences.
If you're a sophomore or junior in college and you're truly spending time wrestling with these thoughts, you're simply in too deep. You're going to burnout before you even get there and we're about 24 months away from a "I can't do it anymore" post. Work on building and strengthening friendships, enjoying college, making memories, having fun, and the other shit that is also cliched but truly applicable.
As much as you think your career will define you, it won't. No one will be impressed. No one is paying attention. No one cares. If you derive all your self worth from the place you work or the job you do, you will be a miserable prick that will find yourself all alone.