Shafted for SA 2025 Recruitment. Next steps?

As the title reads I was essentially completely shafted for IB recruiting. I am nondiversity at a semi target (think UVA, UCLA) and had some interviews with a few top 10 firms but did not land anything I am really excited about. I accepted the one offer I got which was with a mid-tier MM firm (think RJ, Nomura, RBC, BMO). My career goals have always been oriented around making the most money possible while still maintaining some WLB, and likewise, I thought PE would be the best way to go. Now since I am not at a feeder bank I am starting to entirely rethink this career path. 

What is the best way to go from here? Is re recruiting FT the best option? Or should I do 2 years of IB, get an MBA, and try to go PE from there? I have also debated pivoting entirely to Corporate Law. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

33 Comments
 

MF or UMM seems like you make way more money per unit time though. You probably can’t make over $1mn at a LMM shop but i’ve heard MDs are easily clearing 8 figures even at UMM. For 10-20 more hours a week that is definitely worth it

 

From someone in MF PE right now…

One day you are going to look back on this comment and think about how stupid you sound. You sound so incredibly idiotic to anyone in the industry that I had to check your profile that this wasn’t a bait comment from an internet troll.

And that’s because you’re just a kid. You don’t know anything. You’ve never actually worked at these firms. You’ve read all about them on WSO, you know how they’re ranked and tiered and how much a MF PE associate makes and how the partners have houses in the Hamptons, but you’ve never worked on a live deal. You've never gone to IC. You’ve never pulled an all nighter for work. You haven’t worked in PE for even a day in your life and somehow you know you want MF PE because you think it’ll maximize your income per hour? You think you know everything about PE but somehow you don’t know the obvious truth that every PE associate knows: Large Cap PE is completely commoditized and there’s no differentiated skillset. It’s just musical chairs with assets.

If I was interested in a long-term career in PE (and I’m not), I would focus on the middle and lower middle market, the area where I’ve seen PE firms create real value, and do real work, in building businesses. MM and LMM firms actually can drive growth and add real value. As PE becomes more saturated, an actual differentiated skill set will be necessary to survive.
 

And this is all to ignore the WLB comparisons which you, just a kid, will never understand. Do you know the difference that 15 more hours a week makes? That’s 2 more hours of sleep every night.

Also you are way off on UMM/MM/LMM partner comp.

And you weren’t “shafted” on recruiting, if you were good enough you would have gotten the offer. From one nondiversity semi target to another. You don’t get “shafted” when you fail an exam.

 

Coming from someone with no offer - stop crying and prepare for your job, at least you have one

 

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