IB analyst vs. IB career

I have a couple good friends that are analysts at BB's and I am thinking about taking a crack at it. I have done a lot of research and it seems that getting an analyst role (rather than making a career out of IB) is really the way to go. Most of the analysts I have talked to HATE their jobs and view their associates / VP's with disgust, so I am curious....

How many of you are trying to break into IB just for the analyst stint vs. trying to make a career out of it. It seems like there is a lot more prestige / benefit for your career when you have "IB analyst" on your resume - but when I meet those higher up the ladder 30+ still in IB, it seems like the prestige / career potential turns more into an empty soul who never sees his family.

Thoughts?

5 Comments
 

I have made agreements with various individuals to shoot/stab/poison me in case I stay longer in banking than analyst.

dont do it.

Ok jk.

but seriously you have to really really love doing deals if you are to stay beyond analyst.

And hate having a social life.

 

IB Analyst for 3 years --->MBA---->Bomb job?

That's my plan of attack right there.

"Some things are believed because they are demonstrably true. But many other things are believed simply because they have been asserted repeatedly—and repetition has been accepted as a substitute for evidence." - Thomas Sowell
 

I have tons of friends who stayed in banking after the analyst level. They went to do an MBA and then went back into IB. Some guys find the job interesting (trust me) and plan to move up the ladder. Associates who've been there before tend to climb up faster than newcomers. And not all private equity guys get paid better than bankers. VPs & MDs at GS still make shitloads of money for instance.

 

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its one way or the other: hate me or admire.

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