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There’s a few options that I’m aware of:

  1. Go into the Marine Corps active duty, but that’s not a 2 year commitment (unless something’s changed that I’m not aware of). I believe the minimum commitment is 4 years, but it can also be longer depending on your MOS and specific unit. I know pilots require 8+ years (similarly, Marine Recon requires a long time commitment as well. Also you cannot go straight into Raiders, you need to spend a few years in some Infantry capacity before being allowed to go through their screening)
  1. Do reserves. They advertise two weekends a month, two weeks per year but I’d anticipate it being a larger time commitment than that. It sounds really tough to do with a full time job. Although there’s legal protections against firing you for being away, they can still fire you for performance (ie not delivering while you’re gone).

Also FWIW I never served, don’t want to make it seem like I have.

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

I know people in IB (not analysts, to be fair) who are in the reserves and have no issues with being gone for it. Recommend working for a large company (BB) that will have clear protections for you.

That said I think if you go into any type of active duty you'd hurt your career just by being gone so long. It wouldn't be that hard to get back into IB, but they won't give you a more senior title than you left with, so you're losing 4-6 solid working years with no seniority gain when you return.

Array
 

Also- there’s plenty of people who serve in the military, get an MBA, and break into banking. So you having the analyst stint at the beginning can’t hurt you (or at least I can’t see how it would). LinkedIn searches will yield many results.

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

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