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The expectation is that mba associates think they’re useful and brilliant, but in reality they are overpaid idiots who are objectively dumber and can’t keep up with their 23yr old 2nd yr analyst colleagues
So true.
Haha. Name some examples to be avoided por favor. Is it mostly inexperience with processes that analyst are more accustomed to? Or do you think it’s more of general incompetency in Finance?
Sounds like you think you’re useful and brilliant, but in reality your ego greatly dwarfs your actual skill set.
Dudes are just trying to make money at their job and you come out swinging at them. I’d wager if you ever had a problem with them, you’re the root cause of any issues
Which bank are you at? I’m an A2A at an EB - I had that expectation but have been lucky to work with decent MBA associates (even if they aren’t the best, they still make an effort, get in the weeds/collaboration, and treat me well). I read a lot about how garbage they are here and am wondering if it’s only at a small set of banks or I’ve just been lucky. I wonder if it’s just BBs that tend to attract that?
There are no expectations. MBA associates are a liability to any firm. Even worse is the guys who lateral as associates without any prior banking experience. Absolute waste of time and negative value
MBA associates get a lot of flak on here but I honestly have come to sympathize with them. It's a weird job where you're coming in basically as clueless as the fresh grad analysts but expected to keep up without the reps an analyst gets by way of being the first line of defense on any deliverable.
- I personally expected them to ramp up as fast as I do, but for many that didn't come from a technical job prior to their MBAs it's more difficult than I expected
- I also expected them to be more hierarchical and try to manage/boss me around, but most that I've worked with have been some of the most humble and collaborative people I've ever worked with
Yeah for the most part they tend to be pretty decent and honest about their capabilities. On the other hand, worst experience ever was working on a sell-side for a full year with an MBA associate who thought she was a first year VP or something… needless to say her rep at the firm is horrendous
You sound like someone enjoyable to work with. That is good insight. What I’m hearing is that it really comes down to the individual and getting the experience because of the aspects you outlined. Some people are ninjas and pick things up fast and get it, a lot don’t. How does the circumstances you describe change after say a few deals. Tough question I know because you aren’t tagged to the same associate year over year. Also, is this just an open secret - does everyone on the team realize a mediocre associate or is kept hush hush by the Analyst?
I work at a boutique, so it's pretty obvious when someone can't pull their weight on a deal. The phenomenon I'm really trying to describe here is that there's this general ethos that analysts come up the learning curve much faster than their mba counterparts, but it's primarily because, as an associate, you kinda need to throw yourself into the fire wheras all analysts are thrown in regardless if they choose. Some new mba associates will shy away from getting deep into the technicals early on and hide behind analysts and those are the ones who really suffer as you're expected to be technically competent by the end of your first year and without reps you'll never learn.
Hope that answered your question!
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