Feeling lost about career

Have been recruiting for IB/PE throughout college since this is what all of my friends did. Did a couple boutique IB/PE internships but didn't land any big names for junior summer and recently received FT offers from endowment/FoF type firms. I am not sure if I should still try to lateral to IB/PE roles down the line and the FOMO is killing me. I could see myself doing the asset allocation type work but people on this forum seem extremely negative about starting a career in the asset allocation world. Does the skill you acquire in IB really that important for your future career and what are the best course of actions I should take now. Any advice is appreciated.

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I can actually speak a bit from your perspective here. I worked previously for two summers in IB, thinking that was what I would do out of college without a doubt. But after COVID cuts and my group getting laid off immediately following my internship, I moved into the AM space. 

There were a lot of positives that came from this. I can definitely tell you I know way more about the markets, have way better work-life balance (I've even taken up some new hobbies), and have had the fortune of working with some of the most brilliant minds in finance. 

There's fear associated in going your own way and not doing what everyone else is doing. And that's ok. I felt that too when I started in AM and left IB, since it wasn't the blessed pathway this site claims we all should follow. We all feel that when embarking on something new and different from what others do. 

I really think that the sentiments on AM especially associated with this site are short sighted at best and at worst are just blatant misrepresentation. I've long held that if you know what you want to do, you should simply just pursue that as directly as you can rather than taking a circuitous path. If you don't know if Asset Allocation is for you, you'll have what will possibly remain a hot market on the sell-side for years to come due to consistent quitting of people in that business. 

I think you should figure out if this space is for you, and if so, just pursue it. And that's all.

Read the defining decade by meg jay if you want to explore this FOMO feeling a bit more. 

 

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