Quit or wait

whoops, posted on wrong thread

Quitting just a few months in wouldn't be advisable for any job, much less an industry hypersensitive to the makeup of your CV. So I'd say it would be a lot to explain in a potential future interview.

What do you think is an "acceptable" amount of time to stay in IB so that I can leave myself the option of returning if I do decide to do something else for a year or two?

I would say one year at the minimum... it's definitely tougher as an associate (versus quitting early on as an analyst) as I think potential employers would expect you to "have it figured out" to an extent.

I can't help but be curious - why work IB if you don't want to do it?

Tell us more about your situation, were you a direct promote or did you go to B-school and then break in ? also, do you have another opportunity lined up or is this a spur of the moment thing ?

I broke in post law school actually, but am now wanting to do a startup. It's not a spur of the moment - it's something I've wanted to do for years but feel that if I don't do it now I might never...

My advice would be to wait at least 6 months. Just know that if you want to move back to the industry again within only a few months you'll be perceived as a flip-flopper by some.

Once you leave as an associate its difficult to break in. You have to see it as the banks do. They either hire laterally or hire out of school. Hiring out of a start up is extremely rare, I've never heard of it.

So basically once I leave I'm screwed in terms of coming back?