Am I Insane to Go Into IB?
I'm in the process of considering a move to IB. Here is the situation so far - I would appreciate any insight/advice.
I'm currently a 2nd year Associate at a mid-sized consulting firm with about 2.5 years of consulting experience. I'm liking the job but feel like I want to do something different and potentially move to PE. I've reached out to some LMM PE firms and have sent my CV over after informal chats with the potential for 1-2 of them to start the interview process. In my current role I am lucky to work 40-50h but make between $55-65K.
Through some connections, I have the chance to lateral to a BB IB in their sector-specific team. This sector is one I'm very interested in and could see myself in the industry over the long-term (10+ year horizon). I would probably start at A2 which may feel like a bit of a backtrack but happy to do it so I can learn the relevant skills.
My main questions are:
If the short-term goal is PE/VC, is it worth making the move? I would be giving up a pretty chilled lifestyle for much longer hours but higher salary and the potential to have much better PE/VC exit opps.
Would staying the course of try to make it into a LMM and then moving internally within PE also be worth considering?
If 12-18 months down the line I end up not liking IB that much and have been unsuccessful in PE recruitment, how feasible is it to go back to consulting?
Appreciate any advice.
I'm liking the job but feel like I want to do something different
It's okay to want to make more money bro, none of us do this because of some deep passion.
It is worth making the move, but you are young, you will only be able to put up 80+ hour weeks for so much longer. Long term, you know what the better choice is. The current shop your at will not give you a future as bright as IB or PE will.
How feasible would a move back to consulting be if I don't like it? Recruit for like MBBs or T2s?
For MBB it will always be a bit tougher, however, if you climb up I'd imagine it would be somewhat more feasible if you have connections, but without an MBA, too difficult. For T2s it's easier, but a step down.
Can you see yourself being happy working twice as many hours? Only you know that. I feel like it would be a hard adjustment to make after having a full-time job with great hours.
But your comp level could massively jump. And the long term career outlook for BB IB is probably a lot more rewarding than your current consulting gig.
It would be a big adjustment and would likely suck, but would suck less if I know my options aren't as limited in the event I want to leave. I could even consider leaving the prospect of returning to consulting behind if I know I can enter a cool corporate role or PE/VC. I know the PE exit is strong, but is it as good at the junior levels for VC?
At my firm I saw consultants from Tier II firms with masters and 2 years of experience entering as interns so be careful with what you get offered. Same for audit with 4 years of exp.
But its true that it depends on network and other factors.
My contact there said that it would be an internal discussion to be had a bit further down the line but the entry point would likely be A2 and worst case A1 with a promotion fast-track.
You could recruit for both paths (IB and LMM). As note, it is more difficult to move upstream in PE (from LMM to UMM for example) than downstream (if you were referring to moving around in terms of fund designation by size and rep).
IB would present the wider array of exit opps. Along with salary increase and name brand bank would come the increased work hours. There are plenty of threads and websites that detail what to expect as a banker, so no need to further expand there. The recruiting paths to PE/VC will be there coming from BB IB.
One question I have: Why not look to move to another Consulting shop instead of looking to move to IB or PE (this is a question you probably will get in interviews)?
My consulting experience is sector specific, so I would need to move to a sector team within another consultancy. Easier to do if I want to go to a T2, but for MBB I would have to stick it out another 2-3 years to get to that level of "seniority". As for the work itself, I am very drawn to CDD and deal advisory which my firm does not do much of. I have let every staffer in every office know this is what I want so am always staffed on them. But if I have to scramble this much to do a project type I really like, I would rather move. Additionally, if I do get into a T2/MBB I would likely have to spend at least 1 year there before making a move - at that point I would rather spend 1 year in IB where I am guaranteed the chance to recruit for PE and gain more technical skills.
Right now I have slim chances of getting into LMM PE. At a T2/MBB I could add MM (and perhaps some UMM with a rare chance at MFs) to the mix but with IB I would most certainly have all those options (whether I get in or not, is up to me). Even for VC, the funds I am very interested in all ask for more transaction experience which I am more likely to get in IB.
The main fear I have is the following: say 12-18 months in I fail to recruit for PE and don't like IB, I will 1) have to settle for a LMM shop (at which point I may have just as well stayed at my current shop) or 2) be stuck in IB with limited chances of moving back to consulting and going for T2/MBB consulting.
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