From top BB to MM - how to be happy
Hi everybody,
Kinda reluctant to make this post as I know some comments on here can be really negative and quite rude to be honest, but I was just wondering if anyone is in the same boat.
Did an internship at a top BB this summer, was a cool place with great people, but sadly was unsuccessful in converting to FT as the teams I interned in preferred specific european languages and headcount was an issue. I'm a Brit that studies History and the staffers weren't too happy with my degree choice too. I didn't network enough to be considered for other teams. Was offered another division, but said no.
Have another internship opportunity at a MM which I am of course very grateful for - the culture seems a lot nicer and it was the only internship I could get. Recruiting was very tough this year and some places just downright told me they prefer people who study Finance / Econ so makes sense.
I feel quite upset though as I go to a very hardo uni and there's just so much negativity and jokes regarding MM. I want to be happy and grateful but it's hard when people keep laughing at the person who went from a BB to an MM as they thought it wouldn't be possible..
Ignore the hardos, they exist everywhere, and even at my school I would be shocked if people were being rude/making fun of someone for landing at a MM or boutique. Evaluate your choices based on what YOU want to do, it's silly to waste time trying to impress people that don't give a shit about you except to put you down.
It's unfortunate that you didn't get the return offer but life has a way of surprising you, and in my experience as long as you're putting one foot in front of the other and heading in the right direction, things are going to be ok. Focus on finishing up school, enjoy your time with the people at the MM firm who don't sound like assholes, and enjoy life my friend.
Only the miserable shit on MM to make themselves feel better. There are differences between BB and MM but the main “negative” is exit ops. Yes, if you want to go to a solid PE firm, your odds are stacked against you when you’re competing with BB candidates. However there are benefits to working in MM like higher deal flow (bc they can take more deals due to lower fees and the desire to boost revenue), better job security (deal flow and lower headcount related), and sometimes better WLB (case by case basis though, some MM shops kill their analysts because of some of the reasons I mentioned like higher deal flow and lower headcount). Last point is base salary for most MM shops is street pay (same as BB) and sometimes higher bonus potential due to lower headcount for bonus pool allocation. It’s also important to remember that IB in any case (BB, MM and even boutique) is one of the most competitive industries to break into so if you have the opportunity consider it a serious accomplishment.
This is the correct answer. Whether you work at GS or Piper or some no name shop in Cincinnati, 95% of the analyst experience is the same. You move logos around in pptx and find ways to show >20% IRR in a B.S. LBO analysis. Also, most analysts look to bounce to PE, and the MM shops do far more business with PE shops than BBs do. Most of the sell side work that MMs do is for sponsors, so as an analysts it gives you much better exposure to those firms and also creates an opportunity for you to work with them / show off your skills, and hopefully win a job from them. For BBs, yes, they work with sponsors a bunch, but it really doesn't compare to the MM model where sponsor sell sides are the bread and butter of the industry
I would be weary of ultra no name shops. I know some people who’ve worked at some, and it seems the experience can vary insanely
Yeah have to second above, really good points. And hard to imagine a school where they ridicule MMs. I didn't really even grasp the difference between most IBs until in that world. I think I thought HL was one of the best banks (it's great, but I think it was better than Lazard or something.)
Is this LSE? Can’t imagine Warwick or UCL to be this hardo
Yes it is LSE unfortunately
Don't think you should be down on yourself for getting an MM, recruiting is insanely difficult this year. Unless you're a Hardo that is solely compared on going into MF PE at Blackstone, there is no need for you to feel underperformance at all. Apart from deal size and exit opps (maybe culture too) your life will be fairly similar. Banking is Banking, breaking into the industry is a lot more harder and prestigious rather than the hardo Bank ranking threads that are on this forum every other day.
Who cares? Clearly you were a very competent candidate and HR liked you enough to offer you another division - that's more than probably 99% of others can say. Do you know how extraordinarily talented and hardworking you must have been for them to do this? They could have easily dinged you, it's no skin off their back - but they didn't. They had your back and you chose to go elsewhere. That's pretty powerful. Remember that the next time you feel bad about yourself. Just curious as to what division you were offered?
Also pretty weird that people are bullying you about going from a BB to an MM? Just gently remind them how unbecoming and gauche it is to talk about other people's jobs. This is the UK after all, if you make a jibe at their lack of class, they get really self-conscious.
Congratulations on your internship offer.
Similar thing happened to me. The way I handled it was realizing at the end of the day, nobody gives af where you work. Only people within IB will compare. The average person could not give a fuck about "prestige." All they care about is pay. And you're prolly getting paid the same at MM as you would've at the BB right? It's all the same shit at the end of the day. You're still in a highly competitive position and making enough money that puts you in the top 0.1% earners in your age group. Be proud of that. Also, you can always lateral to that top BB down the line if you want. It's just the beginning of your career. We're all gonna make it bruh
Thank you for this - it is nice to hear someone in the same position as honestly I haven't met anyone and my friends who didn't convert are looking into different careers anyway related to their degrees.
You're right - only people in IB will compare and care but I do tell myself that compared to other UK Grad schemes, IB pays a lot more so that is something to be grateful about
I realize your post is as an incoming intern / analyst, but perspective is always important. I am currently looking to lateral from a well regarded BB Coverage group and have found the MM shops increasingly appealing. I know many others feel the same. I have spoken to several GS, JPM, MS, etc alumni who are ASO+ at these banks who actively chose to make the jump.
Comp, WLB, culture, and real roles/ experience on M&A deals were all cited as reasons. Point being, this prestige chasing is a somewhat naive perspective that seems to become less and less relevant as your career goes on.
Ooof, madone, look at da face on the kid! I tells ya, how you think Joey's made it to the top, huh? Best hot salami gabagool in North Jersey and you think it all just came easily don't ya kid? I says to ya, I been breakin my bawls fo' years!
DO u just drop these on random chains. Funny though
MM typically pays a noticeable amount more than BB banks and this gap only grows larger as you get more senior. If you want to be a career banker, it makes very little sense to go to a BB in my opinion.
I see BB interns -> MM full-time on LinkedIn all the time, it's more common than you think and I never thought it was bad honestly
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