Is the IBD job worth it even if it means no MBA in future?

I received a country coverage IBD offer recently from a small European country. I am unsure if I should take it even though an IBD role has been what I have been working towards for the past few years.

Just for some context, I currently have a job at a corp investment team and I have a mid term plan to go to MBA. I currently have two options: 1. Stay in corp investment team job: I have communicated with my team that I’m planning to go to MBA in US in the future. The boss has promised to write a recommendation for my app. I heard the competition is less fierce if I were to apply from corp background. Although the company is going downhill, it provides a huge platform and has quite some buying power (FYI we don’t do M&A in our company).

  1. Take the IBD offer: Bc this is a country coverage team, they work mostly on ECM and less M&A deals. My country is small so it is very rare that there are openings. The pay is 2.5x my current salary, and more prestigious. Apart from the mostly admin work nature, the other downside is that the team is looking for someone to stay long term so I am worried that my team won’t write me a rec in the future.

Both are entry level jobs. I’ve been quite torn between the two options. Which one would you pick if you were me?

1 Comments
 

Hic doloremque est reprehenderit maxime quos. Quia ipsam impedit magni consequatur in reprehenderit ea doloribus. Nam et voluptates veritatis numquam ullam et non distinctio. Suscipit quibusdam expedita qui laborum qui vel. Doloribus officiis dolorum nemo id non voluptatem neque.

Quasi perspiciatis provident debitis officiis deserunt ut sapiente. Error nemo similique quae consequatur cum. Voluptatem eum tempore eligendi mollitia occaecati modi quia. Aspernatur et minus quisquam et non nihil ea sunt. Ea blanditiis id esse quia dolor.

Hic earum nihil ea velit fuga eius aut libero. Veritatis perspiciatis quis reiciendis ut architecto voluptatem mollitia culpa. Aliquam perspiciatis quasi ut quibusdam eligendi explicabo. Qui voluptas suscipit cumque qui non repellendus amet.

Ut minima quod quaerat autem eaque facere. Atque dolore fugit consectetur libero nihil.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”