Need input regarding FT offers

Hi everyone,

This is my first ever post so please be merciful. Would love everyone’s opinions on what they would pursue FT after graduation. In a bit of a predicament trying to figure out what to take considering lifestyle, total comp, exit opportunities etc. I know this is an entirely individual process that I’ll need to work through but I’m super curious to see what the WSO community thinks. Am a Canadian uni student and trying to preserve optionality for my future career path as well as my general wellbeing lmao 

  • Canada Pension Plan - Private Equity Analyst position in NY: 90k + ~30k bonus USD, cushy lifestyle (9-5/7), good firm culture, some travel, not sure about LT exit ops & how Canadian pension plans are perceived in the US. 

  • McKinsey - Business Analyst position at local Canadian office: 90k + ~20k bonus CAD, long-ish hours, intensive travel schedule, good firm culture at that office, lots of exit ops, b-school paid for after a few years at the firm 

  • EB - Investment Banking Analyst in NY: 150k base + ~50-100% bonus USD depending on my performance, general banking culture, longest hours of the 3, no travel, good PE placements


Trying to figure out if I should go directly into PE at CPP out of undergrad, or go into IB and then into buyside at hopefully a different fiirm, or just do MC because there’s more optionality + B-school support. Would honestly appreciate any feedback /advice because I really don't know how CPP is regarded in the US but it does have $400B AUM which is huge, so it works on a lot of big deals. Last consideration is that I have an autoimmune disorder so my immune system is fucked up and attacks my organs when I'm stressed - I did a summer IB internship and my health got pretty bad because I was lowkey stressed out, but should I just grind it for 2 years in IB and escape? 

 

These are all pretty different bro. You should spend some time really thinking about your interests and plan. You want “optionality”, but for what? You’re going to have to pick something at some point. What do you want to go into? 

 

First of all kudos to you on all three offers! Which uni are you at, didn't know the unis up north had such good placement? Coming back to your original question: CPP is not a top-tier PE shop here in the US and pays below market iirc (but heard lifestyle is better). Don't know if you can move upstream to more prestigious funds after the Analyst stint at CPP and you might be stuck in CPP. If your goal is MF/UMM PE in the States, then EB would give me great chance at gunning for those roles.

Something to think about would be exit opps from McKinsey Canada might not be as bright given that there are not many 'exit opps' in Canada. NYC might give you more optionality on that hand (but again US vs Canada is another debate on its own).

Lastly, you mentioned about your disease and to be frank, all three options will definitely NOT be stress-free careers. Hope this does not create any long term adverse effects on your physical health. Best of luck with the decision and keep us posted!

 
Most Helpful

Got some mileage on me and the saying that your health is your most important asset is true. The more years you live, the clearer that seems to become. If working in a highly stressful environment might cripple your health, exit ops don’t matter, much less prestige. The focus shifts to survival. Based on your instinct, which jobs do you realistically think you can perform for a couple years and come out on the other end still wholly in tact? Not saying this is the only consideration, but it’s one of those things I wish I had thought of before making riskier career moves. You probably know which one I would suggest so will just stop there. Congrats on the roles. 

VP
 

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