Do I have a shot at PE out of undergrad?

Hi all, I'm a rising senior currently doing my summer analyst stint in a solid coverage group at a mid BB. I previously interned at a public equity investment firm, which I loved, and I am passionate about investing.

I really dislike the lifestyle of IB (long hours + can get pinged at any time) as well as how menial / unstimulating the work is, and I don't plan on returning. I really liked public equity investing, I think I am a very strong candidate for jobs in that area, and I have a couple offers to work in it full time. My main doubt is how working in public equities pigeonholes you - it is a really outstanding career path, but it's a niche industry with much less career optionality than the IB/PE track. For example, I'm interested in returning to my hometown later in life after working in NYC, but there are no good public equity opportunities there.

This is why I'm thinking about PE, although full disclosure I know very little about the industry. My ideal would be a MM shop where I get paid decently well, have good WLB (relative to IB, so 50-70hrs? not much weekend work?), do interesting and meaningful work, get good mentorship, have solid opportunities for advancement internally, and would have decent enough exit opps to move around if I'm looking for a change (for example, to a MM/LMM firm in my hometown).

Do these jobs even exist? If so, how achievable are they out of college? I don't know a lot about PE specifically, but I think I have a kind of unique perspective since I have both the IB and public equity experiences (so I have deal experience but also think I am pretty thoughtful as an investor), and I am speculating that this might help in interviews (but also might not!). I have a strong GPA and think I interview very well. Do I have a shot? Where should I look / how should I go about it?

Thank you!

 

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