How to plan career strategically (IB FT Offer)

Fellow monkeys,

I have received a full time offer following my internship in London at MS/GS/JPM. Its a good group which is always top 3 for the respective industry segment but it doesn't usually have amazing exits for the buyside - primarily due to the dynamics of the industry

I am very happy with the outcome, but I am always looking for something better and planning ahead. 
No chance I can manage a FT buyside offer straight out of undergrad. I flunked WP/BX/millennium processes in the past.

I was not a superstar intern and I don't think I am that great at all, but I am willing to grind for the next year pre-AN1 and whatever it takes during the IB years to set myself up for a good career.

I was thinking of a number of things.

a) I try leverage this top offer for a boutique such as EVR, PJT or CVP. Worth giving a try, I am loosely interested in RX and the boutique model, but again I am not that technical and I don't think I am ready for the step up

b) Lateral within the firm to a product team where M&A and LevFin are much more respected

c) Suck it up and work hard for 2 years whilst leaving optionality for lateral / buyside exit down the line.

Ultimately I want to have as much optionality in my future as possible, and I am not particularly drawn to a style of investing. PE, Credit, Activist, L/S equity etc. all interest me. Really I am just motivated by money.

I think the next year is super de-risked for me as I have a good offer already and I will spend some time thinking about what I want to do long term.

 

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