34 Comments
 

Get an offer first.

And both are good and have their own strengths depending on what you want to do. There is no one size fits all. Otherwise, we would have already taken that job.

 

If you have both of those offers in hand, congratulations... that's great work! As far as deciding between the two, I am assuming that both are in NYC. There is really no wrong decision here, so I would make a call based on culture. Set up some phone calls with people in both groups and here them out. You can let them know your situation (just don't sound like an ass) and hopefully will see a clear difference between group culture.

Just remember you are going to be spending every living hour with the people you work with for at least a year or two... make the decision based on feel, because honestly there isn't a choice that will make or break you between the two.

"You've got to belong to it."
 
A Posse Ad EsseOnly college kids salivate over GS.

I'm far from a college kid and I salivate over GS... They are the best bank on the street, by far. No comparison.

That being said, if you just want to do PE, I'd probably pick MS M&A over GS healthcare. Both are really good groups, though. You have a champagne problem if you have to choose between the two.

 

Honestly, I like MS a LOT, I'd take an MS offer over a Goldman one, but since I'll probably never have to make that decision you might want to take my response with a grain of salt ;)

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
pivot1990 BX,TPG,KKR will choose MS M&A over GS FIG/TMT provided both candidates are equal elsewhise.

stupid comparison. candidates are never equal elsewhere. bx,tpg,kkr will take whoever interviews better and any of those groups will position you well to get an interview provided you aren't terrible at your job

 
pivot1990MS M&A > GS FIG, TMT Its more technical , never ever do company profiles and work on real life deals rather pitches. BX,TPG,KKR will choose MS M&A over GS FIG/TMT provided both candidates are equal elsewhise.

No. Wtf are you talking about? You're in college...

 
Best Response

Well, factors in my book: - PR (America hates Goldman, there's this huge ongoing mess with the SEC, and they probably have the biggest stigma in the whole Wall St. v Main St. argument) - exit opps (MS M&A > = GS TMT, the two have long been considered the best groups on the street) - subjective appeal (some people want to do different things. i.e. while consumer technology has long and always been a passion of mine, I don't know that I want to do pitches as much as technical work)

Plus the fact that I went through superdays in December with both banks and got a far better vibe from one firm than the other and committed to one as a sophomore, you can probably begin to figure out why I'm leaning the way I am.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 
A Posse Ad EsseWell, factors in my book: - PR (America hates Goldman, there's this huge ongoing mess with the SEC, and they probably have the biggest stigma in the whole Wall St. v Main St. argument) - exit opps (MS M&A > = GS TMT, the two have long been considered the best groups on the street) - subjective appeal (some people want to do different things. i.e. while consumer technology has long and always been a passion of mine, I don't know that I want to do pitches as much as technical work)

Plus the fact that I went through superdays in December with both banks and got a far better vibe from one firm than the other and committed to one as a sophomore, you can probably begin to figure out why I'm leaning the way I am.

  1. America hating GS is really irrelevant, banks work for Companies not the American public. The issue is that GS is still by far, the best bank on Wall Street from the perspective of clients (which is really what I'm sure they care about).

  2. MS M&A is a top group absolutely so no argument there.

  3. You are going to pitch, if you don't want to pitch then don't bank. But top groups like GS HC and MS M&A, pitch less.

And I'm going to guess that your better vibe came because MS gave you a job and GS didn't. Most people will say GS has a by far better culture than MS (which people often find stuffy). And I think the future of MS is much shakier than any bank not named UBS. People are unhappy at the senior level and that only makes it infinitely harder at the junior level. I would place JPM ahead of them if comparing what 5 years from now could look like.

I say pick the one you felt better about during interviews. Both are top notch, so no wrong decision.

 

Seeing as the vast majority of you are still in college and have never so much as attended PE associate interview, you are doing the OP a disservice by acting like you are the authority on firm reputation and group exit opps. Both are great firms, and in those two groups, if you do well, you will be courted by every handsome buyout shop out there. MS M&A gives you a fantastic technical skill set and will allow you to work on very high profile transactions across most industry groups. GS Healthcare has also been getting on great mandates and performing well on the leagues. With that said, healthcare is actually considered one of the "relatively" weaker groups at our firm (along with real estate) and tends to have worse exit opps when compared to CR, Natural Resources, etc.

Goldman is great but at the end of the day, your experience is going to be similar give or take at almost any BB firm. I can't even count the number of company profiles I've done over the last year. Take what you read on these boards with a pound of salt.

 

KB you have no idea what the fuck you are talking about. NatRes has a small analyst class of 10 and sends roughly half to either well-known buyside firms or PIA. Don't give advice to someone making a career decision based on hearsay. For the record, I am not in NR.

 
voltaireKB you have no idea what the fuck you are talking about. NatRes has a small analyst class of 10 and sends roughly half to either well-known buyside firms or PIA. Don't give advice to someone making a career decision based on hearsay. For the record, I am not in NR.

Not sure why you're getting so angry but yes, analyst class of 10 and no half are not going to buyside. The last 2nd year class had 3 people stay as associates, and 2 left to MM PE firms, 1 to PIA, 1 to a HF and not sure what the others are doing. That's certainly not bad placement in fact its good placement but GS NR is not a top group and is one of GS's weaker groups.

And my advice is not wrong or hearsay, in fact I'm speaking from experience.

 

this is a ridiculous thread come back with an offer. also everyone saying GS> over everything just wants to blow lloyd. Do some research better yet get some first hand experience before you start handing out advice.

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 

Please don't tell me my better vibe came from one giving me an offer while the other didn't.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

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