Best path to private equity

Hi everyone! A little background about me before starting: I went to the #1 school in Italy, studied management (bachelor, full marks) and accounting & finance (master, with honours). During my university years (I am 24 and graduated one month ago) I did two erasmus periods at well regarded universities and two 3-months M&A internships, one at a very small boutique, the other at grant thornton M&A (no FDD). Now I am in the rotational corporate finance graduate program of one of the Big4 (areas: FDD, M&A advisory, Valuation and Strategy Consulting) and my homebase (= area where you will work at the end of the program) is FDD. I was thinking about changing my homebase to Strategy (unlikely) or M&A advisory (more feasible, because of my internships and studies). Given that I want to break into MM PE within a few years, what I should do to make it happen (in term of next stepsin my carreer)? Many people say I should try IB but I don't want to work IB hours... thank you in advance!

2 Comments
 

I think unfortunately you know the answer (as you asked for the best path to PE, which in my mind is the path of least resistance). You should lateral to IB and then consider a move to private equity. For headhunters as well as firms this is going to be the simplest story to get credit behind and support on. I'm not sure what the breadth of associates look like in MM PE but I would imagine that most are not necessarily coming from your background. If you are deadset on trying to break into PE from your current background, I would try to spend your time networking as much as possible with firms of your interest (perhaps you will find associates with similar backgrounds!) It will be hard to break in but perhaps if you grind it could be possible. 

 

Est consequatur sed neque alias dolorem unde. Qui culpa et vero aliquid et provident. Rem dolores recusandae ut et cum provident quod non. Ipsa expedita officiis sequi et. Sunt rerum laudantium sequi est aspernatur. Ut et minus molestias eveniet aut autem nesciunt.

Iure molestiae qui eos nihil est. Consequatur voluptates optio odit in praesentium. Distinctio quas sed voluptatem. Harum et vero eos eveniet.

Ut inventore aut sed numquam et ab. Tenetur dignissimos est sed. Non sint nihil adipisci iusto autem. Excepturi nesciunt illo officiis aspernatur necessitatibus quod.

Id sunt eligendi quae. Fugiat voluptas in ut dolorem. Quasi quisquam ut quidem maxime vero in atque. Harum eaque quae dolorum. Nemo facilis unde dolores. Quidem ab sit aut.

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 (99) $363
  • 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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”