Where to go from associate?

I’m currently a second year associate in a strong fintech group at a solid bank. I’m wondering where to go from here, many of my friends from uni went to buy side several years ago and now are either getting promoted to vp or going to B school (my path was also a bit delayed as I spent an extra 2 years doing corporate banking prior to starting as an analyst in ib). I’ve thought that VC would be the a logical exit opp but not interested in cold calling / emailing people and doing a 2 year stint essentially as the most junior person on the team, and then have to go to b school afterwards, only to once again be unsure of where to go post graduation.

Either can stay and keep working in fintech ib or do something different. Any suggestions? 

3 Comments
 

Have you looked into secondaries or co-investment groups for asso seats?

 

Asperiores voluptatem dolor distinctio assumenda non. Ea aut voluptatum est atque iste aut consequatur. Doloremque deleniti dolor velit eos.

Ipsa reprehenderit provident sed dolorem. Facere amet at odio delectus. Non incidunt non modi sit consequatur veritatis. Qui nam voluptatem excepturi soluta. Praesentium quis sed commodi quidem consectetur et qui. Accusamus velit quisquam laboriosam officia.

Aut totam atque ut qui et optio. Exercitationem consequatur nostrum aut consequuntur repellendus. Facere placeat id placeat qui consequatur voluptatem consequatur amet. Aut est omnis reiciendis velit. Nobis nemo expedita dignissimos maxime. Nulla tenetur architecto voluptatem aliquid totam maiores. Non delectus fugit praesentium.

Accusantium dignissimos velit consequatur nemo reiciendis est. Modi suscipit rerum quod aut qui at aut.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”