Discrepancy Between IB and ER Demand

Hey guys,

I have a question regarding the exit opps and main differences of IB and ER since I was recently contacted for an ER "superday".

So generally IB is better compensated and more prestigious than ER, and seems to be a much more competitive space with a higher quality of candidates.

However, in terms of exit opps clearly the main focus tends to be either PE (for IB) or HF (for ER) just in terms of transferable skills. But if generally people are split 50/50 between these exit opps (in the case of the WSO poll HF is even more so at 21% compared to 18% for PE) why is the demand between ER and IB at the entry-level so different? Is it just because of comp. even if it's only for 2-3 yrs max?

Thanks.

3 Comments
 
Best Response
  1. There are a lot more PE positions than HF positions. PE includes growth equity which hires dozens of kids to cold call and do other random work. HFs by comparison are small and at most hire 2 at a time (mostly just 1).

  2. 90% of everyone in IBD gets PE or HF. Not as many in ER head to the buyside after 2 years but it doesn't usually mean that they can't. ER is just seen as more of a career track and there are fewer ER associates than IBD analysts.

  3. IBD allows you to go to PE, ER doesn't. IBD gets you corp dev jobs, ER doesn't.

  4. Like you said, IBD is seen as more prestigious and a better training program.

 

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