Security or Dream Job?
I have an offer at a bank that's really great. It's at a really great location that I love, the pay is fine, the culture seems great, and it's focused on healthcare which is pretty interesting. The only problem is that I never planned to actually get an IB offer. I just wanted to see what it was like and practice interviews before recruiting for something like trading, AM equity research, or quant research (basically I want to work for HF or mutual fund) which happens later in the summer. I am supposed to accept the offer this week and won't have the chance to lock down anything else so I'm not sure if I should go with security - since my parents are ALWAYS telling me I'm lucky to even have an offer for next summer - or if I should turn it down and search for something else. Do I stay with the safe option and just re-recruit for full time or should I take the risk and reject the offer? How are my chances for full time recruiting coming from a healthcare MM during my junior summer and when should I start?
This sounds like a ridiculously manufactured problem. If everything is great, take the gig. If it's not, move on. But throwing away an offer in this environment is asinine.
Many buy siders started in IB. I know ER seems more natural for that path, but on closer inspection it’s not so simple. Sell side equity research is getting really superficial and it seems fewer people are covering more companies. I wonder if junior folks in those roles have any time to learn analysis if they’re just pumping out cookie cutter reports. I’m not saying don’t do ER but I’d be careful about giving up a sure bet in IB if you can’t even be certain ER would be a better path.
This is very misleading. Equity research at almost all respected BB and top MM (UBS/Baird/Cowen/Jefferies, even KeyBanc to an extent) have some of the most extensive research and top rated conferences in their industry groups. MM particularly is known for putting out top quality, unbiased reasearch. ER also has excellent exit ops in HF or AM and searching around Linkedin at top HFs will show that many come from ER roles. Sure, IB and ER are both great set ups for HF but ER is by no means a “superficial role” as you make it out to be. In fact, combining the lifestyle (60-70 hrs per week instead of 100-120), comp (comparable base at lower levels) , cities you’ll probably live in (Chicago/Houston/Charlotte/Milwaukee etc) over NYC, and overall quality of work, ER can be much more rewarding with similar exit ops as IB.
Misleading post Dr. Rahma, and I hope that other Monkeys reading this will take note and figure out what ER (the career and exit ops) are like for real, not based off what this IB or bust forum makes it out to be.
sounds like a first class problem. you might be the only person on WSO who didn’t want an IB offer and actually got one