IB or consulting for an eventual ops job (incoming IB SA)
I recruited for IB during my sophomore year for a few reasons: Recruiting was earlier so I had consulting as a "backup plan" if things did not work out, I figured my resume was better suited for IB than MBB, and I figured that my ultimate goal was to be an investor. But now, a year later, I've realized that I don't want to be a career PE guy and think operational roles (particularly at a start-up or a large corporate) better fit my interests. My plan now would be to do IB -> PE Associate -> operational role, but that seems to be a less optimized path than jumping right into the ops world with PE. This leaves me with a few questions:
- Have people found success looking for corporate/startup operational roles after their PE Associate stint? Particularly roles on the CEO/COO track. Were these opportunities better/worse/comparable to what a peer from MBB would have access to? Were there opportunities that you were interested in that preferred somebody with consulting experience instead? On the flip side, were there exciting ops opportunities that you found that preferred former bankers over consultants?
- For people that were once in a similar dilemna to myself, which path did you end up choosing? Do you have any regrets?
- How realistic is it that I could lateral to a NYC MBB office full time? I'm going to be working at a strong SF BB/EB, have a 3.8 at a target, and have some strong experiences on my resume (but nothing consulting related).
- If I were to want to re-recruit, how should I proceed?
- Outside of WSO, how should I gather info to make this decision? Should I be reaching out to both former bankers and consultants? I feel like it's hard/rude to get people's read on this question outside of anonymous forums.
- Am I overthinking this? I think some of this anxiety stems from having waited over a year for SA stint to start -- way too much time to read forums and scroll linkedin.
I really appreciate any advice people might have!!
Edit: I should clarify that by ops I mean being an operator at a company/making day to day strategy decisions on a COO/CEO like track.
Also thinking about same thing.... curious how non MBB consulting compares to BB also
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here’s what you need to know:
IB -> PE -> Ops Path Feasibility:
Bankers vs. Consultants for Ops Roles:
Lateraling to MBB:
Re-recruiting for Consulting:
Overthinking vs. Planning:
Final Thoughts:
Good luck with your decision-making process! If you need more tailored advice, don’t hesitate to reach out to professionals in both fields.
Sources: Confessions of a former second year IB Analyst, Why Would Anyone Go Into Consulting?, Confessions of a former second year IB Analyst, Can someone break down PE Associate exit opportunities?, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/qa-consulting-pe-early-stage-startup-b-school?customgpt=1
You are completely overthinking this at this point ... however, as a MBB consultant, I gotta say if this is your career goal (Ops?) you clearly should start in consulting. Not that it will be ruled out completely going through IB, but what you describe is essentially the exits you will get on a silver plate after a few years at MBB.
Also, the training you receive at the firm will fit corporate/management career much better. Bankers are much more process/transaction focused. At MBB you will learn early on how to navigate all kinds of typical corporate problems, from top-line to operations and really quickly will understand how to drive transformations within organizations.
If I look at my banker friends who exited into corporate it always has been to a transaction or finance related role (that is corporate development/M&A, finance departments) - I've never seen anyone going into Ops related roles and also a slim majority going into roles that would lead them to top mgmt (that is outside of corporate dev. PN&L / BU specific roles). At MBB you will be raised in an environment that trains you exactly for those type of roles... Just imagine if you spend 5 years working on transactions vis a vis a MBB consultant who has driven ~40 Ops projects during the same period of time. Hiring the MBB is just plug and play whereas hiring the banker is almost unchartered territory. Why would you do that?
It is almost funny reading this questions because 99% of the time on this forum it is the other way round (i.e., "I want to go into PE, should I start at an MBB or BB"?) but your situation is essentially a nobrainer.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply. If you don't mind, I have a few follow-ups for you (Feel free not to answer any of them):
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