MM IB vs MBB
Wondering which would be better to pursue. I landed a MM IB internship this past cycle. Thinking about gunning for MBB instead. Any thoughts in terms of what is better in terms of exit opportunities, prestige etc?
MBB in a tier 1 city > MM IB for exit opps IMO.
could you pls expand on this? what do you regard as exit opps in this case?
PE. No other exit opps besides corp dev are shared between the 2
MM IBK you will be able to exit into MM PE (not guaranteed) and corp dev mainly. If you realize you don't like finance you could get stuck. It's not that easy to shift away from finance. You don't get endless exit opps like others claim especially from a MM IBK (so not a GS MS etc.) Pivots are harder than people think because you need to compete against a ton of people with relevant xp.
MBB you will be able to exit into corporate strategy roles / gen. management, value creation teams, startups, and even gvt if that's what you want. Also easier to get into a top tier MBA for career pivots. Long term the MBB name will be much more powerful than a MM IBK bank that only people in finance know.
Also you can exit into Growth, VC, PE from MBB (I'd say especially Mck and Bain. Mckinsey's brand is very strong and Bain works on a ton of PE deals, BCG is also good but I'd say doesn't have the apex prestige of M and as much PE exposure as Bain) Not as easy as from IBK but it remains an option if you practice your modeling and do some self learning and networking. Easier if you navigate towards the PE focused teams in the firms. So yes, MM IBK > MBB if you only want PE. MBB will give you broader options than a MM IBK in the short and long run, and will also open the investing door if you work for it.
If you had landed GS it'd be a different story.
IB shits on consulting lmao. Significantly higher comp, stronger technical skillset, seen as more prestigious, and virtually all exit ops available
Higher comp yes but worse hours, different skillset from consulting (depends on what career path you want), seen as more prestigious by laypeople but not necessarily by the entire business community (not by the MBA adcoms for example, and not necessarily by corporates)
Not all exit ops easily available to IBK that is a myth. I am from BB IBK and I can tell you it's mostly going to be other finance roles like corp dev / investing / PE etc. If that's what you want great do IB. Harder to pivot into strategy, general management, value creation, etc because you will be up against MBB consultants who have much more suitable experience.
It depends on what you want.
what does the K in ibk stand for
First off congrats, for staying ambitious. After I landed my mm ib offer, I fully committed to being an academic chud for the rest of college. Now in all seriousness, MBB isn’t just something you can jump into. There are kids who’ve done 150+ cases by the time they’re interviewing, but if you can land IB you’re capable of landing MBB. I think the answer to your question depends on whether or not you want to go to business school later. I’d say MBB gets you into at least 1 T5 MBA program (still possible with mm ib, just harder) You probably will still have the same or slightly better exits to PE working at an MBB as well. However transferring to a high finance role in the future will have a learning curve coming from an MBB that you won’t have doing IB. Lastly, I think it totally depends on the outcome. Let’s say you get McKinsey in NYC, then yea I think it’s a no brainer to take it over the IB offer. But if it’s like Bain in Minneapolis, then you probably should take the IB route.
My current offer is a MM (Piper/HL/LAZ) in Mpls. Whereas I’d be recruiting for Chicago MBB (have gained traction networking so far). What would you take in this scenario?
Just take the MM offer man, just my opinion. Spend the rest of college enjoying your life! Those firms are great so congrats on the offer. You'll be making six figures anyway and if you're interested in the IB work I'd take it.
Culpa quo quos quas expedita. Optio blanditiis sit qui sequi aut sit ut. Laborum voluptas reprehenderit illo pariatur enim aut quia ullam.
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