I'm starting an M7 MBA program in the fall and I'm curious why people picked IB over PM, Consulting, PE, Equity Research, etc.
Was it the money? Was it that you were genuinely interested in it? Did you want it to use it as an exit to PE or Corp Dev? Was it your background?
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because they wanted to suffer
Because I want to complete my background in finance and work with bankers to understand how a deal is made. I came from a zero finance background and just thought this is the best way to master finance.
I wanted to do it out of undergrad but got a late start and wasn't able to break in. I was in a finance role before B School but wasn't as technical as an Analyst role would have been. I wanted to get exposure to senior folks but also learn from the A3s as well. I honeslty learned so much from the Analysts and glad I get to work alongside extremely smart people. I'm lucky that I was able to get into T20 school with only 2.5 years of work experience so still "relatively" young haha. I considered consulting but don't want to constantly be traveling.
So you came out of MBA at age of ~26/27?
Yes, I finished my program at 27.
Did you apply to B-school with 2.5 years WE or have 2.5 upon matriculation?
2 years at application. 2.5 years upon matriculation
Went to a T25 MBA program and broke into a tier 2 BB. The main reasons for pursuing IB were:
As a note, you can't break into PE or corporate development without previous IB experience really.
All the best with recruiting! Focus on behaviorals and attitude. That's what they're hiring you for because you can't teach those qualities.
which exit opps are specifically interesting to you and are accessible from your tier 2 BB?
Exits less sexy than the GS/MS/JPM tier 1 exits.
But in all seriousness, I'm sure your career services has told you that what really matters post MBA is the first job you get right out of bschool, everything after that is networking, hence why I wanted IB because of the network.
As long as you're humble, work hard and aren't an asshole, never discount leveraging everyone at the firm from analyst to MD plus you're entire MBA network.
You can exit to a lot of good places if you network well, at the moment interested in trying to make VP and startups and also something with a broader macroecon focus like a hedgefund, but who knows. Things changes constantly and who knows what the world will look like in 2-3 years anyway? Could be a lot of really interesting new roles.
Who doesn't love a good stock pitch?
decided against PM bc:
too technical/ more interested in strategic decisions
barely an option from MBA unless you have an engineering degree
IB instead of consulting because:
i would rather work weekends than travel
pay scales better, WLB actually improves w/ seniority vs consulting you continue to travel forever
much easier to get a job in NYC in IB vs consulting
generally more realistic to get a strong IB job than strong consulting job for me
I love replying “will do” and forwarding the comments to my analyst. Especially if I’m at the gym or out to dinner while doing so.
Yeahhhhhhhhh......pretty much this.
.
not gonna read all that chief
Even top decile firms have trouble sourcing a good pipe of proprietary deals.
Pretty much impossible to do so when you’re an Apollo, etc. and have to put such a massive amount of capital to work.
I asked my associates. They all said "student loan".
I laughed, sorry for whoever gave you MS
Was an engineer before Bschool, primarily focused on energy infrastructure.
Got great hardware experience “designing, building, leading large projects”, and energy / infrastructure banking was the opposite side of the coin: understanding the financing / large scale valuation / market risks.
Don’t know where this will ultimately take me, but my prior life really ties in well with my current role.
are you in Houston?
No in NYC. Was mostly O&G infrastructure prior, did talk / phone interview with a few. Honestly, was looking to get broad exposure and never made the required trips to H Town to build that network.
1) Pay. It's by far the highest near-term guaranteed payout of any option available (it's also wild how many peers don't know that, they look at the employment report and see a consulting base of 165 > 150 but have no idea about bonus structure.
2) I am married. I straight up asked: would you rather I was gone 4 days a week and slightly more free on weekends or that I was physically home each night (even if late and you don't see me). Easy choice.
3) Forced skills. I barely had IB on my radar in undergrad which is a shame. Thought I wanted to be in asset management, ended up getting bored with it. IB will make me learn skills (yes, many menial) that will make me a more polished contributor no matter where I end up.
4) Location. Unlike most on this thread I specifically picked a non-NYC location where I could save heavily and could actually see a future. While it's easier said than done, at the moment I am planning for a career in banking and picked my shop based on that realistic possibility, in contrast to picking the best name I got an offer from.
5) Tangible outcomes. I would blow my brains out in consulting giving advice and walking away. I am extremely goal oriented so to have a transaction as the finish line is a huge mental thing for me.
What city did you end up in?
Midwest...
This is pretty spot on for me as well minus will be in NYC. Numbers 1 and 2 combined are huge. Was in consulting and traveling while you have a family at home is actually hell, and the money isn't very good. I do not think post-MBA consultants realize this if they have not traveled before
So your wife is cheating on you
I graduated from a Top 25 school in May and started at a MM in a non-NYC city. I had opportunities to go Top BB / MM in NYC but recently started a family and did not think NYC + Family was the best fit for me
I chose banking for a few reasons:
1. I'm very interested in finance / investing. IB is either a prerequisite or gives a huge advantage to any career path I can imagine myself working in
2. I knew I'd be a good candidate for IB - I'm a CPA and got a lot of feedback through the admissions process that I'd be a strong IB candidate. I knew this wouldn't be the case for consulting with my below 720 GMAT
3. Comp - even w/ a kid and daycare I'm banking 40% of take-home pay and will bank 100% of my bonuses going forward
4. Travel - pre-covid, I had zero interest in travelling 4 days a week for consulting. Even w/ the long hours of banking, coming home every night was much more appealing to me than collecting travel rewards.
5. Culture - the MM shop I work at doesn't have a lot of turnover at the Associate / VP level and most people are married w/ kids. I knew this when I made my decision and the group is much more lenient w/ me considering I have a young family
What city did you end up in?
Southeast
This is the way, IMO. As a post-MBA associate I would strongly consider people to think about cities that aren't NYC. Very easy to stick it out for the long term and balance having a family, some space (i.e. not a shoebox) while not lighting most of your salary on fire trying to navigate the NYC lifestyle. But everyone's different so take what I say with a grain of salt ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Pretty much the reasons everyone else has said. Worked in AM before school, knew I liked finance and wanted to stay in it.
Would say comp isn’t that much better than consulting until A2 bonus (2.5 years out) so be ready to stick until then. Also think MBB hours are much better, even with travel. Bad project for those guys is 12-1 AM with some Sunday work...
Not trying to change the direction of this thread, but would also encourage MBAs to look at the top MMs much differently than you would if you were an analyst. Names like Blair/Baird/HW etc, particularly if you want to live in one of those regional cities, offer a really strong vision for a mid-long term career in banking.
Would corporate exit opps be as strong at a MM as at a BB?
Realllllly depends on group. They won't be totally the same of course but not as far off as people might think (at this caliber of MM, not some random low key one).
Have had several peers laid off/leave who went into corp dev at F500s or otherwise very solid places. Often you'll be selling companies to these strategics and become familiar. The other angle is joining smaller firms at a higher level or PE backed smaller ones. Have seen this as well.
But generally speaking, many of the benefits will come from sticking around. You get more at bats, guaranteed M&A, equal-to-above-market pay and often fewer hardos.
This is the path I chose.
What are your hours like and what will they look like at a VP?
What about these MMs makes them more sustainable long-term? Do seniors actually seem to have happy family lives, free-time, etc.?
Curious as well. What is life as a VP-and-above at a Blair/Baird/HW really like?
I'm only an associate so take what I say with a grain of salt, but from what I've seen some thoughts include:
General culture. Obviously this is not something you can quantify, but spend some time reading reviews of Baird/Blair and you'll find that people are often friendly and down to earth (but still sharp), and this translates to a less stressful environment. It's extremely unlikely anybody is going to get cussed out. Again, minor, but working with assholes versus good dudes makes a difference mentally.
Some structured things like protected Saturdays or weekends (not necessarily MM unique but from my experience some of these places are more adherent to them than others). Office outings or get togethers can be fun too.
Greater universe of companies to work with. You aren't so crowded, and because you're at the top of the MM you are typically winning mandates more frequently. Again, more reps = more opportunities and experiences.
Most of the VPs and up have families and for whatever reason the firm seems to be more understanding about priorities so long as performance doesn't suffer. I would guess (based on my recruiting and friends) that the % of people married or with kids at the associate/vp level is far higher than elsewhere. Firm is flexible within reason accommodating.
You get paid out in all cash for bonuses so don't have golden handcuffs. The tenure at these places is longer, and I think lower turnover says something. At some of these places you can also buy into the private company so there is a sense of skin in the game.
Sorry for the random thoughts. It's not all sunshine and rainbows to be clear, but it does make a difference.
Going to be a summer associate at BB this year.
Reasons:
- Was in sales and trading at a BB and saw the writing on the wall
- Wanted a more tangible skill set than sales and trading afforded me
- More interested in valuation and the chance to be apart of different processes (ECM/DCM/M&A)
- Potential for corporate exits down the road
- Money
what are your thoughts on people telling you that you could've moved internally at your BB from S&T to IB?
unless you made the decision that you wanted out of S&T after a few years, wouldn't it be better for a 1st year BB S&T guy to first try and move internally first?
It wasn’t going to happen and I saw some additional benefits from having my MBA. I was also 2 years into sales and trading and wouldn’t want to be a first year analyst in IB at that point. Other things I considered: the network, two years to relax, more optionality with which firm I work for amongst others.
Any answer in this forum from a post-grad MBA that's not "compensation to get an actual ROI on the hundreds of thousands I paid for my MBA" is just a lie
Dad paid for my MBA soo...
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