CB job vs IB some prospects

This is regarding analyst positions. Obviously IB has better pay but CB has much better hours.

What are the chances of taking 2 years of CB experience into IB?

What are the chances of taking the CB experience to B school?

Thanks.

26 Comments
 
Best Response

Do IB. Most people I have met in corp banking seem like they are there because they couldnt make the cut for IBD. Of course there's stories of people who chose corp banking over inv banking for personal reasons, e.g. sick family member, but its going to raise an eyebrow down the road. It'd be much easier to switch from IBD to CB, so I'd go that route. Also, depending on the bank/group, I've heard of CB analysts who do little more than print, copy, repeat... not the way I want to spend my first few years outta school.

 

Do IB. Most people I have met in corp banking seem like they are there because they couldnt make the cut for IBD. Of course there's stories of people who chose corp banking over inv banking for personal reasons, e.g. sick family member, but its going to raise an eyebrow down the road. It'd be much easier to switch from IBD to CB, so I'd go that route. Also, depending on the bank/group, I've heard of CB analysts who do little more than print, copy, repeat... not the way I want to spend my first few years outta school.

 

Do you want to do PE? If so then go banking. If you like debt and maybe would want to go to a senior lending fund or say switch to DCM or maybe LevFin, then Corp banking might be fine.

You can do a lot of things with either. But the path of least resistance is spelled out for each career. Pros and cons to both, just depends what your long term career goals are.

Question, why CB associate Vs IB analyst. I'm assuming you have CB experience. That should at least translate into a 2nd year IB analyst.

 

Thank you everyone so much for your feedback and I apologize for taking so long to respond. To clarify, the choice would be between first year IB analyst and first year CB associate. I am coming from a non-traditional background and might have the opportunity to choose between these roles as part of a rotational internship program at a BB. While I have been reading this forum and the other usual sources for years, I do not yet have any real life or even academic experience in the finance space. Therefore it is difficult to say with certainty what my long term interests are like debt, PE, etc. I posted because I am curious what the opinions of members here would be if they had to choose right now between starting in one of these two roles.

 

Broadly true given the crisis and increased regulation. I could see asset/liability groups growing due to the rising interest rate environment and legacy assets from previous acquisitions for many banks.

If one doesnt have the IBD or bust mentality, then I think risk is a solid group to start out in. But to be clear, Im certainly not saying it has the exit opps that IBD does.

 

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