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Shouldnt be that hard to get a buyside job at small shops really. It is def easier than getting a BB IBD analyst offer (at least in Europe).
I think you will lose much of the pros that the legit IBD stint brings, such as brand name, solid training, connections, etc.
Buyside is a very broad term.
What do you mean in banking you don't generate business for the firm? I think I understand the bigger point you are trying to get at but that sentence is fundamentally wrong.
Do both? Going directly to the buyside will be more difficult unless you have a specific skillset (for example, you're a super quant and you can land at a quant HF that looks for that) but there's no harm in trying as long as you keep shooting for IB jobs as well. I'm going to assume it will be difficult to land one of the ultra coveted slots at one of the MF's where they recruit a few direct undergrads because you're from a non target and didn't intern at one of them or at a BB and realize that the smaller shops don't typically hire undergrads because they run lean and don't typically have training programs (we basically use IB analyst programs as the training). So don't be disappointed if you don't land on the buyside right away (hint: lots of people would like to do that) and just don't let it hinder your IB search.
Jumping to the buyside directly has some disadvantages that you should be aware of... 1) Depending on the firm and its size, you may be making models on your first day, but you could also be spending a large portion of your time cold calling. 2) You will not have a structured training process. 3) Some of the times, the models that you build internally may not be as complex/nice-looking as the ones you see in IB. 4) Your transactional experience will be very limited.
Some may argue with some of these points, but this is what I've seen from my own personal experience. I was like you at one point in time, but I quickly realized the benefit of going to a BB/EB/upper-MM IB for an analyst gig.
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