Will I regret NOT going into IB?
Hey everyone - an avid user of this site but rarely post. I attend a top university (think global top 10) and a lot of my friends are going into IB. Investment Banking is something that I've obviously thought about but I think I am much more interested in pursuing other options in finance that are perhaps deemed "less prestigious". I want to get everyone's thoughts on whether I would regret not going into IBD?
Just seems like a lot of peer pressure to follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing (going into IBD) so wanted to hear what advice you all might have?
Any input from current/former bankers or others would be really appreciated!
Edit: for context, I'm leaning more towards something like equity research or macro-based research!
You should go in to the area you like the most. No point in working in a space you have no interest in or you went into because of what others have said or done.
Any corporate finance job should pay you enough to have a good enough lifestyle.
You will not regret it.
All the kids posting about how depressed they are everyday are the ones who went into it to chase prestige. You are probably pretty smart based on where you go to school, and in the long run, you will absolutely be better off putting your energy into something you are truly passionate about. People always say that banking will give you a step up early in your career, but if you know you want to leave "high finance" 2 years down the road, it'll actually serve you better to spend those 2 years building a more specific skillset.
Bottom line, don't think pursuing banking is bad by any means, but you will absolutely NOT regret skipping IB if you already aren't that excited about it.
Thanks for this. I am not really interested in pursuing a career in PE either. I'd much rather do something more research related (Equity Research etc) as I think it would suit my skillset and personality a lot more.
Just feels like a lot of peer pressure given the words 'Investment Banking Analyst' are plastered over my LinkedIn lol
Yes, you will definitely regret it.......sort of, but that doesn't mean that you made the wrong decision.
I did banking and equity research. Sometimes, I regret not getting into tech or jumping to a big corporate early in my career or doing real estate or whatever. My path has worked out, but I still sometimes feel small pangs of regret anyway.
And that's the big takeaway here. No matter what decision you make, you will almost always feel a little regret later on thinking "what if". That's ok. It's a normal feeling. Just make the best choice for you and move forward.
ironic that the most useful comment for someone who wants to head into Equity Research comes from a guy called NoEquityResearch.
I agree completely. That's life. You'll have always have a mini-regret about stuff. And plenty of people are depressed in IB and from what I see from peers, the ones going into IB are pursuing is like crazy but they don't really know what they want. They are scared to commit to a more niche career. They want the optionality. I understand it but if OP knows what he wants, he should just pursue it and ignore the crowd. Ignoring the crowd and thinking independently is actually a very valuable skill in ER/investing imo.
I personally believe that unless you are 100% sure you don't care about making good money / having a high-performing career, you should always aim for those selective, top industries. Whether that's tech, consulting, IB, PE. Even 1 year will pay dividends in terms of future compensation and career progression and you can always quit early if you decide that particular lifestyle is not for you. Recently had a friend quit IB after 5 months and joined a growth-stage company as a marketing analyst and couldn't be happier - no way he gets that seat without his previous banking experience that pointed in to what he actually wanted. Sure, he struggled for 5 months, but that's nothing in the grand scheme of life.
You can always quit IB early if you decide it's not for you, but it's much more difficult to break in if later in your career you decide it might be interesting. Better to land IB and face the potential of burning out than don't give it an attempt and potentially regret it for the rest of your life.
IB here is just a plug for selective / high performing careers - if your interest is in research, that's also completely fine. My suggestion is to just pick one of IB / PE / ER / consulting / tech and try it for an internship + at least a few months of FT.
Don’t mean to crash OP’s post but what do you recommend to a student who wants to pursue CRE acquisitions and eventually REPE down the line upon graduation? For background, I have done a few IB internships, realized I didn’t enjoy it as much.
Don’t mean to crash OP’s post but what do you recommend to a student who wants to pursue CRE acquisitions and eventually REPE down the line upon graduation? For background, I have done a few IB internships, realized I didn’t enjoy it as much.
Don’t mean to crash OP’s post but what do you recommend to a student who wants to pursue CRE acquisitions and eventually REPE down the line upon graduation? For background, I have done a few IB internships, realized I didn’t enjoy it as much.
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