URGENT HELP NEEDED - Don't know how to proceed...

Some views please guys - I'm getting conflicting opinions so I want to get the views of those involved / greatly familiar with the industry.

ME: 34 yrs old, currently studying for an MBA at a top-tier school (NOT HBS/Stan/Whar). Graduated from a top law school in the US, 7 years of experience at a white-shoe law firm. CFA L3 qualified.

SITUATION: Want to transfer into investment banking. Doing the MBA for that reason. Tried to move laterally but just didn't happen (given the crisis etc..). Ultimately want to move into PE.

SO FAR: Got a few offers during the on-campus internship rounds, I'm taking a Summer Associate position at a BB in IBD.

QUESTION: People say that at 34 (I'll be 35 when I graduate next year), it's too old to be an Associate and the only reason that firms have hired me is because they can bring in a lawyer on an Associate salary, rather than paying a crazy amount that would be the case during a lateral move.

At my age (34-35), is it TOO OLD to be a 1st year Associate? I know that most people my age in an IB are normally VP+ Is it tough trying to execute a VP move straight out of an MBA, especially at a BB?

Thanks for the help guys.

4 Comments
 

You won't be able to start as a VP right out of business school, but you're definitely not too old to be an associate. Once you get on the job, no one really gives a shit if you're 35, 31, or 27; it's all about how well you do the job.

One more thing, isn't this a question you shold have asked BEFORE you decided to get your MBA and interview for summer associate jobs?

 

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