Is it possible to move from a public finance role (healthcare) at a bulge bracket into traditional IB or straight into PE? I've heard healthcare in PF is a bit similar to healthcare investment banking, as you deal with hospitals underwriting and mergers.
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I formerly was in public finance in a niche area at a MM bank, I moved over to corporate banking at a JPM/BAML/WF/Citi in a sexy area unrelated to pub fin so it is doable. I will say pub fin isn’t a bad existence at all, the lifestyle there or in DCM are probably the best in banking and despite the fewer exit opps most people aren’t looking to leave. You’ll get the same base and 2/3 the bonus of most other IB roles and work 55-65 hours a week with clients who tend to be far more pleasant and less dickish e.g. no 72 hour turn arounds.
A job opened at the bank, had a friend push my resume, I interviewed well, had 2 prior SAs one at a MM and one at a boutique so I knew finance beyond just pub fin.
If you want PE you are probably better off at a boutique, but that space varies from very well regarded firms doing smaller transactions to almost parodies of a real bank. If it’s a reputable boutique and you’re ok with a circuitous route with potentially a stop at a MM or BB along the way I’d say it’s a better choice, but hard to know in a vacuum.
I’d again say if you go into pub fin you’re likely to be less concerned about the exit opps. I think generally people can keep that pace and lifestyle up over the long term and are less liable to get burned out. It also is more amenable to not being in NYC as you get older which may or may not be a plus.