Which FT Offer Should I Take?

I have two valuation analyst offers for full-time positions. One is at a big 4 focused primarily on audit support with some PPAs in a non-NY tier 1 city. The other is at a decently well known independent shop (think a tier behind Duff and HL) focused on PPAs and financial opinions in a tier 2 city (think Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte).

Which offer should I take with the goal to transfer to ER or IB? I eventfully want to break into HF.

I personally am leaning towards the independent shop since big 4 is mostly audit support, but I am worried about the lower brand. If things go wrong, I assume big 4 offers better MBA opportunities.

5 Comments
 

Ex big 4 here who lateraled to banking. Go with big 4. Doesn’t matter if you are subject to not as good project experience, the fact that you have a better brand image gives you more advantage at recruiter resume screening. It’s very easy to craft your big 4 experience to be extremely IB/ deal-related, but you have no control when the recruiter has simply not heard of your lesser-known valuation firm and dinging you based off of that

 

Ex big 4 here who lateraled to banking. Go with big 4. Doesn’t matter if you are subject to not as good project experience, the fact that you have a better brand image gives you more advantage at recruiter resume screening. It’s very easy to craft your big 4 experience to be extremely IB/ deal-related, but you have no control when the recruiter has simply not heard of your lesser-known valuation firm and dinging you based off of that

 

That makes sense but when I saw the big 4 is mostly audit support, new hires do ~90% audit support and ~10% PPAs. I am worried I will not get much "deal experience" despite a better brand. If new hires did a fair amount of PPAs at the big 4, big 4 would be the choice. 

 

Being on 2-3 deals when you were at big 4 gives you enough to put onto your resume/ speak at an interview. Focus on talking about how you practiced your modeling skills as that’s what people care about the most. Also, bankers really don’t know how groups inside a big 4 work/ differ from other groups so like I said, you have a lot of freedom to craft your response. Also, your 90% 10% number seems arbitrary because I’ve been in your shoes and if you network and tell your staffer you want to be on deals, the odd is definitely higher than 10%.

Also you are right, big 4 gives you better network for MBA app (not saying it gives you more advantage in the actual application because it’s still a competitive pool)

 

Neque quasi ut ipsa illo et. In sint qui animi nihil qui. Atque odit autem vitae odio vero.

Maiores quod voluptate tempora qui. Magnam id odio rerum hic est. Sit deserunt est eius.

Quam aut amet est repellat et. Hic praesentium voluptatem rem asperiores consequatur eum voluptatum qui. Assumenda cum veritatis nesciunt expedita qui quod. Illum sit eaque delectus sequi provident. Minima facilis distinctio quis. Hic similique pariatur et qui et non explicabo.

In non iusto quasi magnam corporis officiis. Qui cupiditate distinctio sed et. Qui et debitis quo autem. Enim voluptatem assumenda quis molestias et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
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...”