IB Senior Analyst or Citi Strategy SVP

I’ve had an ~10 year career in NYC in the Big 4 working in the advisory group covering FS. I was doing well enough - made it to Director by the end. About 3 years ago, it became clearer to me that I wanted to either pivot into investment banking, if I could or move into an internal strategy role at a bank. With that in mind, I enrolled in b-school part-time in the city and while I got quite a few Summer Associate interviews, never got an offer from any of the BB/EB that recruited on campus.

I recruited for full time roles this summer and basically landed on two offers that I am contemplating: (a) Senior Analyst at a boutique (regional) MM bank (b) SVP at Citi within a strategy function - think Tech/Ops Strategy (due to my exp. in the big 4).

Despite the fact that my preference to break into IB, I’m a bit stuck with my decision due to several factors:

  • I feel like it would basically boil down to this factor: I am more interested and passionate about IB as a career.

  • Since this is not a traditional post-MBA IB associate role, the pay is significantly less than the Citi offer (and also my previous comp at Big 4). The Citi all-in comes up to be almost double what I would make 1st year as a senior analyst.

  • The IB role is more junior and I will have a much steeper learning curve due to the pivot. I will also be looking at 50-75% more hours/week. Citi is also obviously a much bigger brand name.

  • Smaller consideration but a consideration - the Citi office is a 5-min walk from my current apt vs a 1.5-hour commute each way for the IB role.

  • Over time, the comp at Citi would plateau which is another reason I feel like I would lean toward the IB role. However, due to the location/commute, I mostly likely will want to switch banks to a bigger/more NYC-based bank after about a year. I’m not sure about how smooth that jump will be though.

  • I also have MBA student loans (significantly higher rent) coming up so the delayed gratification would come at an especially painful time.

Any thoughts on navigating this decision?

 

Being reset to Analyst with that much work experience is ridiculous, plus you said it yourself it’s a boutique bank that doesn’t even give you branding. What is your end goal - is it to be an IB MD? I mean the difference in seniority is huge. In one you’ll be liaising with C-Suite executives presumably and be managing people under you, in the other you’ll get yelled at by a 24 yr old associate about Oxford commas and misaligned logos until 4AM. On top of that the pay is weaker in your IB analyst offer. I can’t see any scenario where it makes sense to do the Analyst reset. Even if your goal is to become an IB MD you should try to lateral to a better bank at Senior Associate title or something (pay parity with Citi), especially given you’re an MBA. I’m sure you could get that kind of offer in an FS coverage group with some networking…

source: I pivoted to IB after ~3.5 years of exp and regretted it painfully; no matter how glamorous you think IB is, it’s an entry-level corporate job and unless you truly love PPT formatting and being bossed around by 5 layers of hierarchy at the bottom of the totem pole, you’ll feel miserable and humiliated  IMO

 

Go to Citi. If you’re dead set on IB try to lateral after a year, they’ll give you more credit than Analyst for sure. But would probably drop the IBD ambitions and climb the high finance ladder at Citi corporate. It’s good experience and will open doors.

 
Most Helpful

Voluptatem modi nisi quo iure laboriosam perspiciatis maxime. Eum voluptas aspernatur sed sunt non. Pariatur ipsum et optio quidem quaerat impedit deserunt accusamus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”