I'm applying to MBA programs and hoping to recruit for IB. I assume most people aren't telling interviewers/people they meet via networking that their long-term goal is anything but banking, but I'm curious to know the common paths. How long does the average post-MBA associate stay in banking, and how many make a career out of it? For those who don't stay, what are the most typical paths (is Corp Dev most common, PE, AM, etc.)?
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2-4 years of having not the best time and the world is your fukin oyster baud
I keep in touch loosely with 21 associates. If I recall correctly, 10 were promoted. 6 voluntarily quit (when they were A1 or A2). 5 were asked to leave/fired along the way.
Fast forward to today, 18 of the original 21 have exited banking:
Corporate (M&A, biz dev, biz ops, FP&A): 10 PE (investing role): 2 PE (non-investing role): 1 HF/MF: 2 VC: 1 Started own biz: 2
I would also not read too much into the PE/HF/VC numbers. Some people had connections. Hope that helps!
Damn talk about data points, thank you!
I should really find my associate class directory that I got in training and look up what everyone is doing on Linkedin and tally up the results. It would be really interesting, personally, to see what happened now that so much time has gone by....
Corporate is by far the most common - part of it is if you're a post-MBA associate, you probably didn't have pre-MBA buyside experience, which makes it really hard to jump to PE after. Then by the time you spend 2 / 3 years, you're close to VP and then it's hard to jump over as a VP.
Personally in an odd spot where the stagnation of the corporate world terrifies me, but the thought of becoming a career banker sounds naive even though I enjoy the work.
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