Fortune 100 Finance Rotation vs. No-Name Boutique IB

I’m a senior at a non-target. I have two offers - one at a F100 doing a corporate finance rotation and the other as an analyst at a local boutique investment bank doing lower middle market M&A deals (sub-20mm in size).

F100 Role: * Relocation to tier one city * Great benefits * 3-year program, rotating positions * Will pay for MBA * Relatively low salary (55k) * 40-hour work weeks * Respected name

Boutique Role: * Local in tier three city * No benefits * Lots of deal experience, client touch, small deal teams * Purely commission (a portion of success fee) * 50-60hrs per week * Typically sub-20mm deals * Cold-calling/business development is part of role

I've interned (hrly min wage) at the boutique for roughly 5 months (during the school year) and do enjoy the role, the team, and the firm very much. It just seems risky as a place to begin my career. I'm pretty decent at networking so in the new city, I was thinking I could start the grind once more to find another IB role.

Given my two offers, which would you suppose I pick considering that I'd ultimately like a career in IB?

Thanks

13 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I personally would take the F100 corporate finance rotational position, and then plan to go for my MBA after the rotational program. Get into a good MBA program (which the respected company name will help with), and then recruit for IB. While the deal experience would be nice to have, getting your MBA paid for and being in a city with more networking opportunities is a big plus.

 

F100 from a brand name program > M7 is very doable and have seen many instances happen from my company. From there I would assume recruiting for banking at the associate level is a pretty easy reach.

Don't give yourself away for free.

 

Eum culpa omnis dolores ut necessitatibus autem molestiae. Est ut laudantium ut assumenda necessitatibus officiis eum. Quia ea possimus rerum odit voluptates accusamus exercitationem. Aspernatur in eum quia corporis iste aut quia.

Quia aut quidem voluptatem et rerum. Esse aperiam omnis molestias sed voluptatem eveniet aperiam animi. Perferendis officia iure sint et voluptatum a quia fugit. Architecto eum enim exercitationem dicta qui expedita sed. Blanditiis aut magnam perferendis suscipit similique a.

Neque error ea dolor aliquam impedit. Fugiat error ratione quia aut temporibus. Velit aperiam velit quos consequatur. Illo sed in quia et cum. Enim harum aliquam ex vel explicabo voluptatum est. Iusto animi reprehenderit et quis fugiat magni aperiam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”