Is IBD superior to S&T and ER?

Hey guys, today when we interns (no name boutique/lower MM) had our lunch break, a guy said: "I think Equity Research is the easiest to break into, compared to sales & trading and IBD" Is that true generally? Is there any hard data supporting this position? I have thought about pursuing ER in the future and I think it's a pretty cool industry.

Furthermore, WHY would someone say that? People have different thoughts and tastes and we should not judge people by what they like or dislike.

14 Comments
 
Best Response

You've got to be kidding. BB or buyside ER is probably the hardest to get since there are far fewer spots and you have to have a clear passion for the markets. You could have no interest for ib besides the prestige & get interviews by going to harvard. I think ib isn't particularly better than er or s&t because they all offer different things.

IBD- exit ops, more boring work, longer hours, "prestige" ER- Interesting work, exit ops in public markets roles, less hours, still the BB name S&T- interesting work, more of a meritocracy than any other job, stressful, exit ops to hf

 

Do what you want to do. In terms of prestige/difficulty he's probably right, but you have to do the work for years and you will do better work and be more successful doing what you want to do. If that's ER, then do ER. Who cares what some asshat says about relative prestige? They're all hard opportunities to get at BBs and they're all high-paying, hard, stressful, but rewarding jobs.

 

Very subjective rating.

Difficulty: S&T > Research > IBD

Gross Earnings: IBD = S&T > Research

Earnings per hour: S&T > Research > IBD

Job Security IBD > Research > S&T

Exit Ops: IBD = S&T > Research

Headcount: IBD > Research > S&T(extinct)

Future Industry Prospects: IBD > S&T > Research

 

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