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Edit: Thank you guys for the help!
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Stay far away from retail buying programs. I know a lot of kids that do the Macy's program and absolutely hate it.
If your long term goal is to be in IB I would suggest the Commercial/Corporate programs at PNC, Fifth Third or BB&T.
I interned at Fifth Third not in a commercial progrogam but PM me if you need any insight. Good luck
Could you speak about your experiences at this regional bank? Thanks so much!
Not sure why you would want to do the buying program if you want IB/PE/VC later on. So that's out. Tech consulting isn't going to allow a direct move either, but you can get into good MBA programs out of Deloitte/IBM and then you may, i emphasize may, be able to make that move after the MBA. Commercial/Corp banking probably offers similar, if not slightly worse, MBA options as the tech consulting. But it offers more transferable skills that will allow a possibility of switching without an MBA and have a better story for after the mba. Same thing is true for the Oil FMP.
Considering your goals, i'd say Banking=>FMP>Tech Consulting> Buying
I would definitely take the commercial banking offer as you develop a good skill set in financial statement analysis and some modeling skills from a debt perspective. You will also have the best exit opps. as you have the potential to go into corporate banking, F500, and potentially IBD.
I am in almost the same exact situation. I decided to take the commercial banking offer. Pretty much same reasons as everyone else has said: somewhat transferrable skills, better exit opps, plus if you can work on bigger loans (ex:syndications) you can network with a lot of different finance people.
Also due the regional focus of the bank, wouldn't that put me at a disadvantage for an MBA in the future vs a brand name such as (Macy's, TJX, Walmart, Target) or (Deloitte BTA, Accenture SI, IBM CBD)
Now, having said that, you still aren't at a disadvantage. It's not just brand, it's also what you did and how you did it at these places. PNC has a good brand, I wouldn't worry about that. And the programs at Macy's aren't exactly prestigious as opposed to PNC. Likewise, being Deloitte BTA is definitely less attractive than Deloitte S&O. Read my above post again. The differences won't matter that much and you'll have far more marketable skills for the jobs you want. People have to stop thinking of b school as the end all be all.
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