Two job offers, please advise.

Two job offers, please advise.

Offer A: Commercial Banking Leadership Program. 18-month rotational program at a top 15 commercial bank. Leads to positions such as credit analyst, corporate banking analyst, DCM analyst, leveraged finance analyst, etc. 70k base, 5% annual, 5k signing. LCOL Midwest. 40-50 hours/week.

Offer B: Investment Banking Analyst. Lower Middle Market M&A firm that also does direct investment/private equity transactions. Well known regionally, “no-name” outside of my area. Strong deal flow, been around for decades, still growing. 60k base, 80% target bonus. 55-70+ hours/week. LCOL Midwest.

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

3 Comments
 

Depends on what you want, really. If it was me, I'd go for the first option because it looks like it leads into investment banking anyway (DCM/levfin).

 
Most Helpful

Imo this depends on where you see yourself in 5+ years, which can be hard to visualize near the beginning of your career.

If I were you, the decision comes SOLELY down to:

Do you see yourself staying with the same firm for a long time, or do you think you’ll want to experiment or try other opportunities?

If you want to stay with a company long term, the leadership rotation will be great because you’ll get exposure to many segments and, more importantly, make connections across the company. I’d also say that if you’ve not worked in any of those areas before, it could give you a flavor of everything; although no telling how you get placed after the rotations are over (it’s probably worth it to ask about this if you haven’t)

If you think you want to change cities, go to a larger banking platform, jump to the buyside, or dont have ANY idea what you think you want to do 5+ years from now, then I would argue that the IB analyst role is best. On WSO there’s the huge idea about “no-name” banks but I can tell you from experience and observations that if you’ve got “IB Analyst” as a title people automatically bucket you as a candidate worth speaking to and of a higher caliber than others.

I think lastly I’d just say the IB role, despite being a boutique, will offer you more optionality down the line vs the rotational program.

Nothing wrong with either choice, but this early on in your career I would completely ignore the salary, expected hours, etc. Its all about building skills and a network right now, the big money in finance comes later on down the line. It’s a big decision and you can’t go wrong with either here ultimately, it comes down to your preference.

 

At et asperiores eveniet molestiae nemo quisquam blanditiis. Fuga molestiae dolores non. Eaque consequatur velit in adipisci aliquid. Modi enim provident occaecati repellat nam. In qui debitis facere recusandae officia.

Illum asperiores voluptates cupiditate recusandae sed sint sapiente. Voluptas saepe sit pariatur nisi et. Praesentium repellat rerum molestiae earum aspernatur. Tenetur omnis placeat doloribus eum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”