PE MF over Banking? Is it worth it? Please Help

I have a dilemma I wanted to anonymously share with you guys: My dad is an MD at a top BB (think GS/JPM/MS) and has been tiger parenting me my whole life to become a banker like him. I'm finally at Wharton and now he's pushing me to go straight to MF PE... I'm so confused. I've setup my whole life to be a banker like him and now he wants me to do PE? Why would he want me to go straight to PE? I don't know too much about PE, and I certainly do not want to upset my dad, but it strikes me as a little dull and kind've like a dead-end. For example, we have a family friend who is a partner at KKR and he is a miserable man who has been through three wives. Plus, from what I have gathered from older friends, the prestige of PE is diluted a lot of nerds entering it from STEM backgrounds, diminishing its stature of being closed off circles of New York's elite.

Bottom line: is it worth it to do PE? Banking seems much cooler and I don't want to be associated with STEM nerds who don't have prestigious family histories.

 
Most Helpful

Even though it may upset your dad, 100% go into IB. I went through a similar dilemma choosing between PE and IB, but at the superdays, I realized that everyone doing PE out of undergrad is a complete STEM nerd. PE is becoming slowly diminished by the entrance of nerds, and it doesn't carry the same social clout as it did in the 70's and 80's.

 

I agree, not to say there aren't STEM nerds in IB - there definitely exist some and they suck to work with. However, you find far and fewer of them as you climb the ranks, as the hierarchy of IB does a great job percolating the beauties.

 

OP genuinely needs to choose between PE and IB. How is this a troll? This is a decision many top students (HYPSW) need to make, and having a post like this details the pros and cons of each side.

 

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