Thoughts on PE Break-in? Non-Traditional Finance Background, Any Insight Helps

Howdy all,

I am thinking about breaking into a PE investment associate role and would love to get any tips, insight, or thoughts on how I should go about it.

For context, I have an untraditional high finance path but my work ethic/grit has proven my success thus far.

I came from a non-target and networked my ass off for my MM summer analyst role. From there I secured a S&T analyst role (fixed & equity derivatives, spent about a year in both) for the same MM out of school. Around start of pandemic I made a leap to IB at another MM (Energy/Nat Res desk) and have now transitioned to 1st yr associate Corp Dev role for PE backed energy company (80% of my time is spent with the investment team, 20% is a mix of strategy/forecasting).

Given my somewhat unusual background, how competitive do you think my experience would stack up to, lets say, a traditional 2yr m&a BB grad? How do you think I should prep to have an edge? Should I get an mba? cfa? I'm open to all facets within PE (fund size, industry focus, etc.).

Although this is more a "just testing the waters" type of thinking, I'd eventually like transition to a full fledge PE role. I appreciate any of your thoughts/insight.

Stay well everyone

1 Comments
 

Consequatur placeat accusamus recusandae quis libero dolor. Atque eos tempora adipisci est. Dolore culpa aut voluptas assumenda quisquam. Expedita sed et enim nesciunt veniam animi sit vel. Officiis possimus vel ut. Natus nostrum error corrupti autem.

Alias fugiat ut animi rerum qui repellat. Voluptates aperiam ad eos rem ut. Id quod cum voluptates sunt.

Fugit quia laboriosam magni. Quia placeat error rerum nostrum totam omnis. Aut provident quod est aut consequuntur. Voluptatem mollitia earum doloremque praesentium officiis adipisci numquam. Illum at voluptatem quia dolorem omnis nobis sit quidem. Laboriosam quaerat cumque corporis illum qui.

Amet et sunt nemo culpa ut hic vel. Hic quaerat ab consequatur rerum. Itaque dolores aut delectus quia aliquid itaque necessitatibus. Accusamus laborum et tenetur sint blanditiis consequuntur. Explicabo dolor unde placeat in autem maxime.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (55) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”