So after spending two years as as commercial credit analyst at a small regional bank I was hired as an Analyst for the oil and gas sector for one of the big three credit rating agencies. Just out of curiosity I started surfing linked-in today after my first day at the office and I've seen quite a few former employees working as associates at BB banks beyond the lev fin department so in essence it is quite possible to make the transition to IBD from CRA Analyst positions. My current plan would be to either: A) stay two years pass the first two levels of CFA and aim to apply to a good business school and then hopefully land myself a BB Associate Role or B) Stay for a year and as soon as May comes around try to network and market myself for an IBD Analyst postion don't get me wrong I got a nice Salary bump in this new gig, but I'm not trying to be a credit person during my entire professional career. Advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated it.
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So I think that a move like the one you're suggesting is certainly doable, however, but I think you're likely missing a piece. I would think it would be rare for a BB to hire an Associate from a CRA without having first gone to business school. Not because the experience isn't highly valuable, but because it's not directly transferable and that's not how BB's recruit their associates.
A BB is likely going to hire incoming Associates from one of three pools; business school, analyst promotes, and laterals from other banks. I would think that after working at a CRA, you would have a strong case for a good business school and marketable experience to leverage during the recruiting season. My advice would be that your most likely path to BB IBD is to get that experience, go to a top 10 program, and recruit for Associate roles from there. I understand that is the more time consuming and expensive option, but I also believe it to be the most realistic.
Someone else may have separate thoughts there. I'm speaking form the perspective of analyst at a BB to associate at MM PE.
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