Currently a 1st year M&A associate at a law firm in NYC. Considering a career change into finance because it seems like you learn more about what goes on in companies, sale processes, investing, and deals when you work on the banking side. It also seems exciting to have a chance to be an investor someday, being able to evaluate companies/opportunities. If not buy-side, being an advisor who can evaluate a company's situation and help its management decide on an appropriate course of action, whether it be capital raising, M&A buying/selling, restructuring, or whatever else sounds like a cool job as well, at least in theory.
I'm currently in my late 20s. When I take a look through linkedin, the city is flooded with people who were target school -> BB analyst -> KKR associate, probably just about to turn 25.... Is there a place for outsiders like me in finance?
Should I try to change my career and become an IB associate, whether through b school or directly lateraling, if it would take me until my early 30s to get there? What are your thoughts on this? Perhaps it is a person by person decision whether to leave a stable, okay money but miserable job to head to a different pasture which is potentially more/equally miserable, but is a place where you feel more involved in the pulse of the financial world/have better set of non-legal opportunities? What are your thoughts?
GO for it dude. If I were in your shoes I wouldn't do an MBA since you've already spent so much money and time on school. Try to lateral into the M&A division of the banks that you're working with. I think they would be open to this because you would know about a lot of nuances specific to M&A, and the excel part of the job is much easier to be taught compared to the legal side.
There is a really good thread about law vs banking on these forums, and the consensus was that as a lawyer you don't get to learn the big picture because your job is to fulfill one part of a deal, and after many years of experience you'll develop the big picture view of a deal and why it's being done.
Network with the bankers and I think it would be doable. Just be likeable, knowledgeable of M&A and why you want to switch. M&A is so niche and your skillset is extremely valuable and can't be taught without law school, which in my view puts you in a favorable position.
Things to consider: As a lawyer you're probably making 210k (base of 200k + 10k bonus), after paying law school+undergrad fees+rent+ taxes = almost 0 leftover. Your base in banking as an associate, especially as an analyst, will be much lower.
The reason I mention an analyst role is because some institutions might want to have you start as an analyst so you can acquire the relevant technical skills before becoming an associate. Analyst salary is usually 85-95k, and bonus for many of these banks will be 40-50k if you're a top performer (there are some exceptions to this if you're working at an elite boutique like Evercore or PJT where you'll get a higher bonus). If I were in your shoes, I would be firm on the associate role, but just know that this may come up during your talks.
Good luck
Thanks for the thorough insightful response. Would you advise using a month or two to get a GMAT score as a backup option? It just seems that Bschool would be such a huge cost of time, not to mention the tuition. But due to wfh during covid, I have a bit of spare time to use for studying for the GMAT, so the cost of getting a score feels relatively low. The other thing I could do with my time is study financials/modeling, but it seems like it would be better to due this in the 6-9 months immediate before I try to interview and lateral over. Is that right in your opinion?
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