What's harder? FT vs. Lateral

Hey guys,

It seems like most FT analysts at banks and asset management firms come from summer internships. I've also seen laterals to the very same firms at the analyst level (with 1-3 years of previous work experience) but very few analysts who started FT straight from school without having done the SA internship. The few I've seen (and know) have come from top-tier targets who have leveraged OCR. Personally as a non-target applicant, my job search has been extremely difficult. I have good credentials, and contacts at firms, but I've been told recently by one particular contact to get FT work experience first (at a non BB/EB or smaller AM firm) as the spots for FT are extremely limited (non existent at certain firms). This makes sense, but I wanted to confirm whether this is the generally accepted notion or whether it's just the opinion of that particular contact. In my network, I've seen lots of movement into MM and smaller funds from boutiques but not as much to BB/EB or top funds (BLK, T Rowe, PIMCO etc.)

Also if you're someone with 10-14 months of finance internship experience, is it possible to qualify for "experienced" recruitment even though you're looking for your first job after earning your degree?

Thanks in advance!