IBM Corp Finance> MM IB>MBA>PE

Any thoughts on this route? Go to decent state school, 3.5 GPA- 1 boutique IB winter internship senior year, and have a solid PE internship in spring of sr year.

DECENT but not great connections. Would prob use a head hunter.

Plan would be IBM Financial Analyst (Maybe in business development role, nut sure). Lateral to a MM IB, go to a top MBA if i don't get a direct pe offer, and then try and break into PE.

Discuss.

 

I am not terribly familiar with IBM's Corp Finance role but is it a two year program? I don't know that the MM IB (provided you could find someone to take you on as a first year analyst) would be enough of a "step up" to warrant leaving a program at a reputable company like IBM. If you excel at IBM and work there for the duration of the program you could a. try to move directly to MM PE (difficult but not impossible), or go back to business school (may be too soon if you only do 1-2 years at IBM, but 4 is much better). I think if you go to a reputable MBA program you could potentially jump straight into PE. Look at some of the associate profiles on some MM PE firm's websites. Not everyone comes from the prototypical investment banking background.

 

Yeah, IBM's program isn't a "2 year stint."

You can stay as long as you want, unless you get laid off/fired.

I feel like 1 year at IBM>a first year analyst at a MM IB would be better for PE?

I just don't know how related the work at IBM is, or the perception on the street- I assume there is no direct relationship between the modeling in IB to the modeling at IBM (unless i get into the corp development role)?

 

Why don't you just skip the IBM Corp Fin and try to get MM IB? The question I have is why do you have IB & PE internships in undergrad, chose to go IBM Corp Fin, want to go to MM IB, and then back to PE? Seems like you're spinning your wheels at IBM. Just dive in.

 
Best Response

Yeah,

That's exactly why. Note that I am in my sr year.

The IB internship is with a boutique (less then 10 people) and is only full-time for this coming winter, I basically wiggled my way into it by networking my ass off. I tried to get a full-time IB internship this past summer but my networking strategy didn't land me anything, so I had a lame accounting internship.

The PE is part-time, but does have a very excellent training program that I actually get academic credit for, and is in the spring of my senior year (this coming spring). If I'm lucky I'll land the full-time offer, but also need options in case I don't, as I will find out at the end of the spring semester if I have an offer.

Point is, I'd LOVE to get right into IB, but nothing has worked out- all my relevant work experience for IB is just starting now with this winter IB gig.

Only had one superday at an MM which didn't work out. Right now, as a sr, my only viable option in Finance is IBM.

Where does that leave me? IBM>IB route, or MS Finance> MM IB route.

So, thoughts?

 

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