Q&A: Went from S&T to Cap Markets to M&A to MF PE

I'm a long time user of WSO, and as the title says, I've had a pretty convoluted career path so far. I started off in S&T out of undergrad, and was on a prop desk that was getting decimated (historically it was one of the most profitable groups at the BB). I was desperate to make the switch to an IBD coverage role but did not have much luck so had to start of as a 1st year analyst in a capital markets team. I knew i wanted to work in PE so I eventually made the switch to a coverage team as a 3rd year analyst and went through the off-cycle PE recruiting process, which eventually led to a MF offer which I ended up taking. WSO was a tremendous help throughout this process, especially the PE interview guide and the WSO video library, and I thought I'd pay back the community with a Q&A.