Transitioning Vet - Competing Offers HELP!

Hi everyone,

I'm transitioning out of the military (academy grad, officer, Top 10 MBA) in the coming months and have a few offers to consider in a short time period:

  1. Associate position at very small (15-20 ppl), fairly young (10 yrs), tech-focused IB in SF. Seems like lots of deal flow with very reasonable pay (mostly bonus).
  2. Veteran Internship Program at BAML. Program involves 2x rotations over 12 weeks in a variety of front office roles (not necessarily, or even likely, IB)--includes transaction services, capital markets, coverage groups, research, S&T, the whole gamut. NYC. Extremely high offer rate (95%+)
  3. Big 4 Valuation Role. SF

So here's where I'm at: I started this process with the hopes of landing a TMT type IB Associate role at a BB--I realize it's a lofty goal, but we all need something to aim for, right? So my dilemma is that I have offers for both an IB Tech role and a BB, they just don't happen to be one and the same. Looking for advice on the following points:

  • Exit opps or transition opps from the small IB if things go poorly there. I'm particularly concerned about the age of the firm and the possibility things go south quickly in a downturn/recession.
  • WRT BAML, I feel there might be a lot of upside to the rotational nature of the program. While I have been pursuing IB roles, I recognize that I'm still very naive re: the entire finance industry (no internship)
  • Big 4 offer is least appealing to me, but left it up here in case someone has a killer argument in favor.

Thanks for your help--I'm very much struggling with the decision.

3 Comments
 

I would say the BB because as you develop your career the name brand will add significant value, also the rotational program can land you in one of your preferred roles (from which you can later transition within the firm hopefully) and will give you an opportunity to learn about various finance jobs

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