It seems like everyone in this forum is influenced to gun towards target school-> ib -> pe/hf/other. Just looking for other points of view. Don’t want to get stuck in the race race trying to always go for the “next best thing”
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I went semi target > Ops > Structured Credit IB. Honestly, once you hit FO in S&T, IB, or ER, you're pretty much on track for making more then most people. Personally, I'd advise finding what you find most interesting. Reason being is no matter how smart/motivated you are, burn out is a career killer. But if you like what you do, you won't burn out, you'll move up the ranks, and get paid more in the long run. At least, thats how I see it
I'll take a stab, though this is not an opposing thought. There is an entire spectrum of firms and jobs in banking that is not just rat race and grind. You can honestly have a decent life if you sacrifice the "prestige" and a some pay.
Started my life at a BB, absolutely loved it. Headline deals, sharp people, great pay, lots of learning, the whole 9 yards. Hours sucked, lifestyle sucked, nothing that isn't a surprise. Am at an MM now, one that is absolutely unknown on WSO, "zero prestige". Cons are tiny deal teams (literally nobody to hide behind), little to no headline deals (we do a few in the niches we are good at) and challenges with recruiting talent who naturally pick the bigger firms over us.
The pros - sure I have the odd 100 hour week here and there but my hours are absolutely phenomenal and comp is a little below what a Canadian Big 5 VP takes in. Small deal teams = more exposure running deals, managing clients, pitching ideas. No balance sheet = learning to hustle, hunt and eat what you kill. All my MDs are ex BB/EB who tired of the rat race.
At smaller firms, there isn't always pressure to win lead left on everything and it's not the end of the world when we don't. Limited resources force us to pick and choose our battles and it works really well. We never burn nights and weekends doing 50+ slides of analysis or showcasing 20+ buyers. I've never worked on a moonshot pitch, only ones we know we have really good odds for.
Could I significantly up my comp and bolster my resume with an upward lateral? 100%. Am I realistically in the frame for an MF or prestigious PE move? Absolutely not. Do I care when I have a pretty good lifestyle with pretty decent pay? Fuck no.
Which firm? Any chance you guys have fully remote openings in the US? I went from MM banking to PE and am now at a BB but sick of this RTO shit.
From my experience, the majority of people who come into banking with delusions of grandeur of BB -> MF -> HBS -> Greatness typically end up realizing they don't actually want to do that. A huge number of analyst who thought they would recruit on-cycle for MF PE end up sitting out and exiting to corporate or MM/LMM PE as they come to realize the prestige rat race isn't worth their mental / physical health and wasting away their 20s. On-cycle being much later the past two years than prior years has really helped in that regard.
Anecdotally I think people at EBs are more likely to pursue MF PE / stay on the prestige track vs. BB, probably to do with the level of hardo needed to break into EB in the first place.
don't ask the crowd for advice on how to go against the crowd
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