3 Comments
 
Best Response

People go into banking for many reasons, and there is certainly that bucket of people who want to end up at a PE/HF shop eventually. For those people, banking gives them 1) training and 2) experience. You can equate a stint at a BB like financial bootcamp--you are going to get your ass kicked, its going to be hard, and at times, you may feel as though you will never see the light of day again. However, the experience is unparalleled and no other position will provide you with that experience. My friends in the PE/HF world have told me that they usually prefer kids coming out of banking programs bc they are trained and have the deal experience, but there is certainly a small number of people who go directly into these shops and do very well. I think this will depend very much on your background (school, past experience etc.) and the shop you work at.

You are correct in your assumptions (as far as I know), the smaller firms with unstructured programs will not have any formal training. I am not really sure about the hands-on experience though. Ideally, you would think that leaner deal teams means more responsibility and thus greater experience. Historically this may have been the case, but I have heard from an number of undergrads interning at various PE shops that they are doing a whole lot of nothing right now, given that the market is so shitty. Keep this in mind when making your decisions.

 

You can also think like this: breaking into PE is harder than staying in!!! So, if you have a chance to join as an intern, you have solid chances to join full time, if you do well. I am hearing on these boards, that those without PE experience can hardly get a job in PE post-MBA. All in all, I would go with PE in case it is a legit job and you will be able to stay there for at least 3 years full time. Then MBA, then back to PE. You might learn a lot in BB banking, but what is it worth when you cannot transition to PE after 2 years??? And being in BB banking is far from being a guarantee that you can get into PE. If PE is your ultimate goal, why pass on the opportunity to join a shop early on???

 

Qui odit dolores doloribus natus consequuntur consequuntur sunt quaerat. Esse dolores dolorem vitae aspernatur quasi. Vero voluptatem est ipsa aspernatur.

Quas voluptatem ducimus nostrum vel et suscipit enim. Voluptas minus inventore hic quam quidem magni. Repellat explicabo accusamus animi ratione. Voluptate et occaecati tempore. Et fuga sit nihil et voluptas. Quasi molestiae perspiciatis deserunt et amet doloribus aperiam.

Quibusdam eum qui aut dolore cum tenetur provident. Aut quis ad veritatis dolore et dolor. Eveniet porro voluptatem illum sed molestiae nostrum aut. Amet repellat eum dolores ea.

Quia sed dolor aut est illum velit molestiae. Rem magni est rerum quia voluptate accusamus porro qui. Officia non adipisci sequi voluptates illum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”