If I expect to be graduating into a recession, how should I adjust my career path starting out?

Sophomore / Rising junior here, going to be an SA at a highly ranked BB in the coming month.

Not an expert by any means but I've read a lot of material and done the math wrt how long this cycle's been, and I would like to prepare myself for the possibility I will be graduating into recession territory, given I have 2 years in school left to go.

I'm not terribly concerned about being unemployed, as I have a decent profile, or at least I can do an MSF to lay low for a while. What I am trying to do is to do my best to prepare for what may be a down season for some industries/products and a good time for others.

So I know restructuring / special sits will be big. But apart from that, which areas in finance will be good to jump into at the outset of a financial meltdown, or at least won't be affected significantly by one?

18 Comments
 
Best Response

You are incredibly shortsighted if you don't think this is a legitimate question. It's ridiculous how short our memories are.

If this turns out to be a good discussion it could be very fruitful. I started work right during the M&A boom so I had it lucky, but those who started in 2008 faced a fundamentally different market/recruiting mentality. Kudos to OP for being one of few Sophomores who must be thinking about this. You are a step ahead, man.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”