Bad at IB = … in PE?

AN2 here and can confidently say that I am not good at IB. I have gotten bad reviews and honestly struggle with the work. I am not very good at modeling, I do not really understand accounting concepts, and I am not very sharp in PPT. However, I am a great hang and well liked at the firm.

I do really enjoy business and making decisions at a strategic level, and have recently been recruiting for PE jobs. I like the idea of being on the buyside but I am not sure if I will actually be good at the job based on my IB struggles.

Any thoughts? Am I delusional to think I will be good at PE?

28 Comments
 

not gonna lie bro sounds like you should get into like lending or something relationship-based, build up a book of business and shit. Sounds like you would be way worse at PE than you are at IB, analysis/modeling is way more nitty gritty / detailed, way less margin for error, generally stress levels are higher, etc. I honestly think you would hate it tbh, you sound like a chill dude tho. 

 

Yeah I feel you. I can’t really tell if I just didn’t care in IB or if I genuinely didn’t like the work / was bad at it. Definitely feel like PE probably isn’t the best path for me though, but for some reason I keep convincing myself it wouldn’t be that hard to learn.

 

I mean tbh you're not particularly wrong, it isn't that hard to learn. Nothing is rocket science, really just takes the time/effort and eagerness to learn / roll up the sleeves and get stuff done. There are definitely a lot of parts of the job now that are genuinely interesting that I enjoy that, to your point, if you were a lot more interested in it then you would likely be better at it than IB. Nothing stopping you from recruiting and seeing how that goes, then if you land a spot see how it goes - there's definitely stories of people being mid/low bucket analysts that go on to figure it out in their next gig so if you think you can do it why not rip it. 

 
Most Helpful

If you can't do IB you're going to get chewed up and spit out in PE if you land anywhere other than the chillest of boutique LMM bucket shops outside T1/2 locales. Modeling and accounting knowledge is table stakes. They're the bare minimum for doing the job and you'll be hard pressed to even get an execution seat if it's a weak point (particularly given you have bad reviews from your current gig). Even if you did somehow manage to scrape through with great behaviorals that impressed the right people, if you didn't improve rapidly within the first few months on the desk you'd be dismissed from most places pretty quickly because there's no shortage of otherwise viable candidates. Being likeable will only get you so far, your colleagues will not want to carry the load just because you can't figure it out. If IB isn't for you (as in the job is too hard, not that you just don't like the environment/would prefer to be an investing seat), PE DEFINITLY isn't because it's just IB 2.0 at 90%+ of places.

I'm not sure how you can "like the idea of being on the buyside" if you're self-admittedly bad at one of the more fundamental parts of most buyside jobs, which is analysis. Is there something they do that you think you would be good at that could offset weak financial analysis skills? Or do you just like the idea of being paid more (not always), having better hours (not always), or more perceived prestige (not always)? If you don't think it's that hard to learn modeling/accounting then why wouldn't you have done that before starting your current job and instead allowed it to go on for 2 years to the point your manager(s) to have expressly told you it's a weak point and given you negative reviews that will now inevitably follow you if you ever ask for a reference? You're right in your comment above, it's not really hard to learn, which is why it's concerning that you DON'T know it. You're a 2nd year analyst man c'mon. 

If you're a great hang, that's awesome man. Maybe try BD. When I started out in PE I was BD-focused because my modeling skills were pretty weak compared to guys coming from banking and I was a team sports/party bro in college so frankly my strongest skills were in socializing/managing relationships. But I wanted the better pay and more than just sourcing chops, so I passed on bar crawls with friends through the first few months of my ASO stint to practice with multiple modeling courses/guides till I could demonstrate to my MD that I was competent enough to be trusted across both BD and execution workstreams.  But I already had straight As from all my accounting & finance coursework and understood all the concepts, I just didn't have excel skills because frankly I hadn't needed them to be particularly sharp in my previous job which had also been BD-heavy. And if you can't even manage powerpoint... I'm not exactly sure what you could really bring the table because "good hang" isn't a resume builder. 

Loan origination, wealth management, private banking, etc. There's a lot of other options that are still good finance jobs that put much more emphasis on relationship building/management than depth of analysis. Maybe look into those and see if one strikes you as a good fit, because I know guys making low-mid 6 figs in all of them who rarely if ever have open anything from MSFT suite other than Outlook and occasionally Word (mostly to redline agreements). But given what you've shared, most traditional asset management/PE/HF roles are just not on the table for you unless you build those other skillsets. 

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

Thank you for sharing this, I totally agree.

I ultimately want to start something entrepreneurial and was thinking of PE more as a means to get me there. Would you say that I would likely struggle if I were to try to start a roll-up?

 

Yes.

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

He should go into fundraising and has a shot at 7 figures.

Second, I wish interviews screened out people with poor analytical skills. Plenty of losers slip through especially at larger shops where we needed to hire more bodies just to execute. More headcount = more spoke closer to average and god is the average person dumb - plenty of them make it too middle management though.

 

Thanks for the reply. I am really considering wealth management, PE IR, or head hunting. Any thoughts?

 

that's what consulting is for, no technical skills and lots of decision-making in abstract, which is what you seem to enjoy 

PE is well known for being technically meticulous (much more than IB), so you'll never reach those "decision-making" spots you aspire if you just suck at delivering at junior levels 

after all, everyone wishes to be the big dog calling the shots, but the path to get there is reached by grinding the Excel during your junior years 

will also add that being extremely good in accounting/Excel at PE allows you to not waste as much mental energy and effort on this, leaving more room/energy to think beyond your direct tasks, which is how you start to think more like an investor even as a junior, because you want to stimulate a bit your mind/have some energy left to look at things beyond your direct expectations 

incentives triumph ethics
 

You need to know ppt for consulting

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

GS under Blankfein

that's what consulting is for, no technical skills and lots of decision-making in abstract, which is what you seem to enjoy 

PE is well known for being technically meticulous (much more than IB), so you'll never reach those "decision-making" spots you aspire if you just suck at delivering at junior levels 

after all, everyone wishes to be the big dog calling the shots, but the path to get there is reached by grinding the Excel during your junior years 

will also add that being extremely good in accounting/Excel at PE allows you to not waste as much mental energy and effort on this, leaving more room/energy to think beyond your direct tasks, which is how you start to think more like an investor even as a junior, because you want to stimulate a bit your mind/have some energy left to look at things beyond your direct expectations 

Well said - couldn't agree more, especially this piece "being extremely good in accounting/Excel at PE allows you to not waste as much mental energy and effort on this, leaving more room/energy to think beyond your direct tasks, which is how you start to think more like an investor even as a junior"

SOFR+400
 

Depending on the strategy but traditional buyout is the worse version of banking with relatively same hours and way more responsibility. You need to be good at all the core fundamentals of IB jobs to hold up well in PE. If you are really good with people and want to do deals try business development and if you like strategy work try chief of staffs (up and coming role now) or corporate development. Most PE associates exit to these paths too.

 

Tenetur et mollitia illum aut quia. Possimus officia provident eveniet sint et beatae dolorem. Inventore qui possimus et officia consequatur. Autem maiores delectus porro vel exercitationem.

Asperiores molestias tempora eum occaecati incidunt. Qui quae quo a occaecati est illo maxime. Sint qui est odit voluptatem. Nostrum optio nulla sunt dolor quia.

Quia eius in est quidem explicabo nihil unde omnis. Expedita ea repudiandae esse aliquam sapiente ea. Est et eveniet similique ratione amet asperiores. Est eos voluptas omnis laborum inventore ullam cumque. Blanditiis voluptas beatae expedita veniam dolor in.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.1%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (100) $364
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (106) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (235) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (414) $231
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (273) $126
  • Intern/Summer Associate (38) $81
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (356) $61
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
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”