I don't appreciate any of the personal attacks. I posted my question simply to source ideas, and I have always been polite about it.
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I heard MF is still easiest from CS and Barclays when compared to GS and Citi.
Do you want someone a 25yr old with 2yrs of Analyst experience or a 30 yr old with 2 yrs of Associate experience? And please don't bring up all the "real world" experience you bring to the table from your previous job. If it is that great you're better off trying to get into PE from MBA. I can think of one guy who had 10yrs of very relevant industry experience who came into a very good shop as a VP straight out of b-school but he's an anomaly. As others have said you can't compare to guys who started as an analyst and then made the jump later - perception is just different for those who have analyst experience.
In addition, this stuff is very structured and is run by recruiters, not the firms in most cases. No recruiter is going to go back to Riverstone with a brand new post-mba associate candidate. It also happens very quickly. Half our first yr analysts have PE jobs and they've only been working for 6 months. The recruiters aren't calling Associates - it's just the way it is.
Assuming you have come around on the likelihood of making this transition (1% much closer to correct than 5%), you should be asking what are the best places to start as a post-MBA associate (end of sentence). I have written on this topic before on here but the short answer is maybe GS but not C, or CS. You'll get the best reps at a boutique (EVR, TPH even Simmons + Jefferies who crushed everyone in E&P advisory this year). If you really want the bulge experience of doing cap mkts memos at least avoid the euro banks.
League tables are trash, especially for the bulges. I've seen 20 deals where EVR, Jefferies or TPH worked on a deal only for a bulge to jump in a week before announcement with some sweet financing or because they're owed a favor BC they're in the revolver and get advisory credit. No associate at that bank did much of anything on that deal and if they did it was probably the M&A guy in NY. You get the best reps at a boutique, but wouldnt fault anyone for taking GS.
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you should stop.
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Look, nobody is saying it's impossible to move from banking to PE as an associate, but it's completely inane to choose your bank based on your chances of getting into PE. It will be a longshot no matter where you are, and as others have alluded to it's based on much different criteria than for analysts. Headhunters won't look at you so you'll need some kind of special connection to break in, and if you already have that it doesn't matter one bit whether you're at GS or Barclays or CS or even DB ffs. Maybe GS does more M&A execution than the other groups but if you don't fit into the culture you'll get put on nothing but shit pitches and you'll learn nothing. And if you enter banking with the attitude you're too good for the job people will pick up on it instantly and you'll probably get RIF'd within 2 years.
I would also think long and hard about wanting to do PE long term as everyone else above has said. The lifestyle isn't really any better, it's much harder to get promoted and the pressure to succeed is on a completely different level. If you think sourcing an M&A deal is hard as an IBD MD, you won't even be able to imagine sourcing an actionable acquisition opportunity (contrary to popular belief banks won't cater to your every whim just because you're on the buyside). If you can somehow convince a fund to hire you, you're likely starting at the first year associate level (with every other 24 year old fresh out of banking) with a significant pay cut (probably going from $275-300k all in to $175-200k) with low likelhood of advancing.
I think the lifestyle is actually much better in PE. No the long hours don't go away and yes the pressure is still on, however:
In short, I'd say you can make more money in banking, but it comes at a significantly higher cost (in terms of personal life, experience, etc) and with a lot more golden strings attached. I'm glad I got the fuck out and went into PE instead, and so is my wife.
Holy fuck. No one else is going to call this guy out?
Fine.
@OP, you seem weird as hell. Not only are you coming off as creepy, unable to pick up social norms, ignorant to your current career situation, you also did 100+ hours of wall street oasis research? That's insane, and I am 99.99% sure that you will not fit in in the Houston banking culture. You're also NOT going to the 4 listed BBs above...yet that is all you can talk about? You don't even know why you want to do PE, yet you're obsessed with going to a MF?
Nothing to say? What I thought
u Mad bro?
Yes, I was pissed. There had been posts that made me uncomfortable but they never crossed the line. You, on the other hand, made me sick. Don't let me find out who you are.
Posting in an historic thread.
Oddly, this ended up being one of the better conversations about PE versus career banking to ever take place on this forum, largely because it appears it was actually between people who have done both as opposed to the class of 2018 at HYP asking whether some classes are better to get into Centerview vs. MS M&A as a summer analyst in one thread and then feigning knowledge about BB and PE comp in another.