Infra M&A Vertical vs. Industry Coverage: Exit vs. Lifestyle Tradeoff?

Currently choosing between two groups for my full-time offer at a BB/EB and would appreciate input from anyone who's been in a similar spot.

Option 1: M&A group (Infra vertical)

  • The general M&A Group has great culture and exits but I'd be on the infra team
  • I have no preference for infrastructure but likely won't be able to switch to another industry coverage
  • I'd join a small vertical team working on large, reputable deals in the industry
  • I could likely leave the vertical off my resume but my deal experience would be infra deals across the standard infra sectors

Option 2: Industry coverage team

  • Strong, traditional coverage group
  • Broader sector exposure (think Inustrials/Consumer/HC/etc.)
  • Very tough culture with poor WLB, even by banking standards
  • Exits are strong

Both place well into UMM and MF PE. The M&A Group has better culture/WLB so I'm leaning that way, but will the infra vertical pidgeonhole me? How likely is it that I'll be able to recruit for generalist PE roles or 'adjacent' sector-specific roles like tech (digital infrastructure), industrials, etc? And will leaving the vertical off my resume get me through screens or will they ding me for only discussing infra deals? 

Appreciate any insight from people who've navigated this tradeoff or seen how exits shake out.

1 Comments
 

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