PT MBA Career Switch
I would like to get an input from y'all.
I come from a very low socioeconomic background, (Asian, Male, Straight), came to the states at age 14. Since graduating from UM - Ann Arbor in Econ, I've been supporting my parents as my dad is jobless since 2016. (Tough for them to get a job due to language barrier).
With that said, I really want to pivot to IB from Big4 strategy consulting. I am finishing up part-time master in finance next year at T10 university. But I don't see myself being able to afford FT M7 or T15 MBA (I can take out a loan for tuition and partial scholarship but I have to pay for my rent and expenses and I need to keep sending my parents money). I pay for phone bills, car leases, insurance, internet, almost everything.
So I am looking at PT Booth/Haas/Kellogg/Ross MBA. Has anyone switch careers with PT T15 MBA? I was able to make it to superday with GS, JPM, Lazard, Moelis, Citi, I think I need that extra boost on my resume to get it done.
I wanted an insight from the people in the IB industry before making a big decision.
Thank you for reading the long post
First, much respect for you grinding to care for your family as well as keeping your head above water supporting yourself and looking to grow your career. I am in the same boat albeit looking to move into Private Credit so I can provide some color as I literally just attended a info session with a panel at one of the PT MBA programs you've mentioned. From all the conversations I’ve had it is definitely feasible to make to jump although it will take some leg work. On this last panel one of the guys moved over to Big 3 consulting from manufacturing background using the schools OCR. Feedback is that employers know your doing a PT so there OCR opportunities that go on in the evening/weekend but you can also if you want compete with the traditional MBA class and do regular OCR. You're not limited in how you recruit for IB and they have career coach's set up to help you make that transition. Would also say be open to middle market banks as they provide a great platform if IB is truly the route you want to go. Hopefully that helps! Best of luck
I've seen it happen twice for Pharma corporate employees (one was a scientist and the other was corp fin) --> IB in pharma/biotech groups. Both were through NYU PT program.
Went to a top 15 PT. About 5-10 out of 15 or so that recruit get internships every year.
Biggest issues are: (1) being able to join FT OCR as not all programs allow this and (2) being comfortable bunking off work regularly throughout the day to do coffee chats, DOJs, etc.
No one in IB cared about being PT or FT. Was a non issue.
At a BB - hire a few PT every year.
Thank you for sharing.
So how did you get in without SA internship?
Did you work in a similar industry before joining IB?
I am doing profitability and growth strategy including M&A, but qualitative side. Not quantitative. No valuation, LBO, DCF, etc.
I did an internship. Everyone in the recruiting class is recruiting for a summer associate spot. It will require you to quit your job for the final year of school.
Completely different field. Most people recruiting were in different fields.
Totally agree with these points--I recruited from a top 15 PT program as well. I wouldn't underestimate the time commitment for coffee chats and fall recruiting. Regardless of being PT, you are still expected to attend all events (virtual/in-person presentations, happy hours, close list dinners, etc.), which is far and away the most challenging part of the process. Generally, associates and possibly VPs will be open (and may prefer) coffee chats after 5p, which is helpful when you're working FT. As part of your process, if you're not anchored on certain banks, it might make sense to target 'low touch' banks that ask you to do 3-5 coffee chats instead of 8-12, which is the case with some of the BBs.
Non-NYC BB and non-BB banks run earlier recruiting processes, so you can target those and be done by late November... BB processes run into December and sometimes January.
DM'd
Hang on - there is a bit to unpack here. Are you saying you made it to superday for analyst recruiting for those 5 firms? Was that this year? Or we're you recruiting for Associate?
I generally tell people to go for MBA because there is a lot of available money - I'm a straight white male from B4 consulting and I got 90% FT scholarship to CBS. The problem of course is your parents - this situation where you are supporting their entire lives doesn't seem tenable. I agree, this will be next to impossible if you are a FT student.
However, I think you have some misunderstanding of WHEN you would start. MBA associates are interns between their 1st and 2nd year of MBA, then finish a full 2nd year in school, then start full time the summer post graduation. So if you applied to start FT MBA this coming September 2022, you would be interning Summer 2023, and starting full time Summer 2024. Maybe you can swing enough credits to hit that timing as a part time, but it will be an absolute grind when done in addition to your full time consulting job. You will also need to quit your job for the 10 week internship in summer 2023, then have a full year before you can then start as a full time associate.
This seems completely untenable to me.
My opinion - I think you should double down NOW on analyst recruiting. Making a PT jump is possible, but I can't imagine doing it given the context you've set out. The amount of grinding required to really do MBA recruiting correctly is quite a bit, and will be tough to balance with your consulting work AND your actual MBA classwork. It just seems like you will be setting yourself up for failure.
With a T10 Mfin, you will be able to recruit for an analyst position now, continue to support your parents, and would be eligible for associate promotion either at the same point or only a year behind where you would be if your tried to get your MBA. This way you will be far better positioned to actually get a job (as opposed to limited to those banks that need large classes and will consider PT students) and make more money in the interim
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