Is Undergrad Recruiting a Sucker’s Game Compared to MBA?

Every time I come to this platform or watch some high-finance related channel for information on IB there’s always an abundance of those talking about impossible work hours, unhealthy lifestyles, bad bosses, and a true rat-race recruiting scheme that guarantees nothing.

On the other hand, I hear that there’s an alternative process where one can supposedly do anything that’s prestigious and/or highly valuable for some time (perhaps even fulfilling), go to a top MBA school, and then come onto Wall St. a few years later as an associate with better hours, better pay, and a lot more life experience to support you. Supposedly anyway, I haven’t researched the matter.

One has to ask, is the analyst stint worth it if this is an option? To those who went through the MBA-associate process, how does it compare to the traditional route? And as someone who is not well positioned to succeed in the traditional route, would that be a better option, so long as I pursue something valuable like a lower level of finance (corpfin/real estate/b4advisory/etc.) or the military (intelligence?) for instance?

22 Comments
 

This isn’t giveadvicpls

people want to avoid MBA recruiting because joining a bank as an associate leaves you with much fewer opportunities vs as an analyst. But historically it could be seen as “easier” - a lot of the finance oriented people in top MBA’s have already done a stint in PE/banking/consulting and are trying to move up, not back to the sellside

 

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