How to lateral from FIG to TMT over summer?

Got my summer IBD group allocation today; FIG (last choice of 4) at GS/JPM/MS, London. I plan on busting my ass for the next 10 weeks regardless of the fact that it was my last choice. Everyone writes it off becuase of the whole issue of being pigeonholed. I've been told there might be some opportunity to be cross-staffed on other teams (specifically TMT). So my questions are;

  1. Is FIG really as limiting as people say it is in terms of changing careers one day down the line?
  2. Anyone who has been in a similar situation to mine, what did you do? and how did it work out?
  3. Is VBA likely to come in useful for the internship & excel or is the cost / benefit too low at the intern level? And if it is useful, any specific references I should take a look at?
  4. Any thoughts on the Wall Street Prep guides? They have one for FIG and I'm wondering I should take a look and be ahead of the curve so I can focus more on networking and trying to lateral over to the TMT guys?

I really don't want to get to the end of the itnernship with a FIG FT offer... Any replies are super appreciated! Thanks!

14 Comments
 

Is that a country based team? in that case you will work across products (banks, asset managers), I wouldn't care too much, as you will have an exposure to any kind of valuation methodology (FCFE but also normal dcf, etc)

 
Best Response

The entitlement in that last sentence is strong. So you havent started your FIG internship but you already hate it? Please explain. FIG GS and MS are really strong groups, so I think you have the wrong attitude about it; you should be hoping and wishing that either of those give you a FT offer. In terms of pigeonholing, that mainly happens if you arent good at what you do. Do some linkedin searches, you'll find that FIG at those banks leads to other good experiences.

 

If you read my post you'll see the second line says "I plan on busting my ass for the next 10 weeks regardless of the fact that it was my last choice.". I'm not sure how that last line comes off as entitled - I just don't find the sector interesting.

As I mentioned, thinking about getting the Wall Street Prep FIG course before starting the internship - would it be worth it or is it just a gimmick?

 

I was referring to the part where you said "I really don't want to get to the end of the internship with a FIG FT offer.", youre kinda putting a FIG offer beneath you. But whatever, moving past that. I wouldn't worry about getting the FIG course before starting the internship. I don't think it its a gimmick, but that may be more tailored for people who want to break into FIG and learn how to model in the sector. You can get some of the models when you intern and look at how they're built, ask questions etc, so it may not be necessary to put out the cash for that. I would just try to get your hand on some primers (free) to read through before starting.

 

@detasierra27

1) If you don't like the sector, you will hate your job even at GS 2) No matter what people say, the work in FIG is somehow different (same as e.g. RE). Yes, you might be able to do DCF, but people forget IB is much more than the model - the process looks slightly differently, the DD questions are different and I believe that TMT/HC banker would handle the sale process of a consumer/retail company much better than FIG banker 3) You can change teams internally but that's purely driven by a) available headcounts b) your performance and ranking c) network (it's not enough you go for a coffee with folks, someone needs to vouch for you in another team as you can't say I am going to your team cause I want to) 4) Ask yourself what you wanna do in the long run and verify if the brand is more important for you than the learning curve you are getting

 

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