Quitting after 18 months
Hi everybody
I am currently working for one of the better BBs (GS/MS/JPM) in my 2nd year in IBD. I have already secured a MM PE offer for 2012 (starting date not fixed so far)
Since we will receive our bonus end of January/February, I was wondering whether it is generally common for 2nd years to quit when bonuses have hit the bank account or stay for another 6 months
Don't get me wrong, I think that IBD stint was a great learning experience but at this point, I just want to get out as soon as possible.
So what is your general view on leaving after 18 months instead of staying the full two years?
Thanks for the input guys!
Quitting Investment banking before starting in Private Equity
Making the transition from investment banking to the promised land of private equity is an exciting time. But you want to get out of investment banking as soon as possible.
18 months is seen as the minimum amount of time one has to do in IB to transition out. However, most private equity firms recruit second-year analysts because the bank has essentially trained an associate for them.
In other words, the Private equity firm may be expecting you to complete that extra six months. Get in contact with your future employer and find out if it’s something that will impact your employment. Also, make sure that the bonus won't get
Look kid, you've put your 18 months in and proven to 95% of hiring managers that you're not a flake and that you can survive at the level an IBD analyst is required to operate at.
Now, if you want to stay in IBD/PE, you have to play by IBD/PE's rules, and I believe that means two years. But not so for getting an MBA, switching to trading, research, etc.
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You answered it yourself. The 6 months are important to you and you can quit after the bonus hits the bank. Seems to me you already know what you wanna do.
Man i would leave so fast if I was in your position. As long as there's no risk to losing your PE job for leaving banking early, I dont see no downside.
depends on whether you want a letter from them for MBA apps. it would be burning a bridge. back in my day not staying until summer of second year was frowned upon.
I'm sure your company won't like that...i would take vacations and what not, but don't quit because those relationships might be useful.
just curious, why are you so desperate to get out of IBD analyst program? Do you not like the work?
Speechless.
I have no clue what you are trying to imply.
Have you not read this site at all? Working in IBD sucks. Why would anyone like it?
Is it really that bad? I keep hearing about IBD stress and hours, but is it significantly more intense than other entry level business jobs like F500, consulting, or accounting?
Also, does your life really get much better after you get your exit opps?
Wow, just wow. Stop posting, start reading.
^ lol
yeah 70% of this whole site is about exit ops for god's sake
Straight retards...no idea what they are getting into just "where is this going to take me next"
Good grades in Jr. High->Exeter->Harvard-> Top 3 BB IBD-> ???
Btw, do most analysts at BB get exit opps to PE? Or, are these spots only reserved to certain % of top performing analysts?
BX/KKR lol.
Btw, 99% of jobs suck. Singling out IBD is kinda unfair. I know Engineers, Accountants, Public-service employees, Consultants, etc and they all strangely despise their jobs.
This. How are you really supposed to know how much I-banking really sucks, when you constantly hear how other jobs suck too from people working other jobs? I constantly hear about many lawyers who are absolutely miserable with their jobs and considering getting out of law. I had internship in consulting and I knew many guys were worked near death and were planning exit plans even before age of 25. I hear about how Big4 accountants are always overworked and not paid enough for their work, the work they do is so fucking terribly boring, etc.
At least in banking, you are getting paid big bucks, and other jobs kinda all suck anyway. So, if you are constantly hearing about how all jobs are hard and they all suck, how can you judge if I-banking is really bad unless you actually work in different jobs and different industries yourself?
Good grades in Jr. High -> Exeter -> Harvard -> Top 3 BB IBD -> BX/KKR -> Models and Bottles
Your bank is going to want keep you as a contact point at the PE firm so you shouldn't have much to worry about.
Sorry, I don't spend much time on this forum. i check this forum time to time. I know that hours are brutal in IBD, but have no idea how much worse it is compared to other entry level business jobs like consulting, accounting, financial analyst at F500, etc..
For example, I definitely know that consulting is no easy gig at all as well due to heavy work load and amount of traveling required for the job.
banking sucks on a different level entirely. i can't explain it. you just have to try it to really understand.
my current job is fucking awesome. money, hours, peers are awesome. no travel, ever, unless i want. i get to use my brain. and my commute is a 1 minute walk. ps: it's not banking.
What do you do?
quant physical trading
U mind if u share what industry or division u work at? you don't have to tell what company u work at tho. that does really sound like a sweet job.
Btw, it sounds like you hated your time in banking... are you glad you got out of it? How about consulting? Did you like it?
Look kid, you've put your 18 months in and proven to 95% of hiring managers that you're not a flake and that you can survive at the level an IBD analyst is required to operate at.
Now, if you want to stay in IBD/PE, you have to play by IBD/PE's rules, and I believe that means two years. But not so for getting an MBA, switching to trading, research, etc.
I'd stick it out for as long as possible, that way at least you can maintain your relationships. I'd also try and feel around at the new company and see what their view is on this. They may be annoyed if they hired someone they thought would have 2 years experience and only ended up having 1.5. It may not make a difference, but do you want to take the chance that it might?
If you don't need the job and don't care if they fire you, maybe hint at leaving early after you get your bonus. They'll either fire you, not give a fuck, be pissed and keep you til they find someone, or try and figure out a way to make it happen smoothly. If they don't give a fuck, tell them exactly when you plan on leaving. If they fire you, well that makes things easier. If they're pissed at you, tell them you're willing to stick around for a month or two to give them time to find someone else.
Make sure that as soon as you start hinting that you're going to leave, you're ready to be fired and have money saved up. They could very well just kick you out on the spot, though I doubt that would happen. Also make sure that if you agree to stay on for a month or two, that you stay on for that amount of time and work at the same level you have been working.
I'm a student, but I worked a couple of "real world" jobs before going back to school. The one thing that most everyone responds well to when you say you're leaving is the following:
-be humble and modest -be appreciative -don't be negative in any way
They took a risk on you coming out of college, regardless of what school, major, gpa, ECs, and internships you had. While you leaving early makes their lives harder for them, letting them know and giving them time to adapt is always helpful in maintaining a good relationship. Humanize yourself, say you enjoyed working for the firm and with the people you had the opportunity to work with, you just can't see yourself going in this direction and you want to move forward in your life. You just have to be ready for them to react negatively and fire you, because they sometimes will do that.
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