How rigid is the career path of doing an MBA after a PE stint for the sake of career advancement in PE post-MBA?
Is an MBA required to advance significantly past the associate level? I've seen people go back to school to 'upgrade' from MM to MF, but if you break into an MF pre-MBA is it common to head back to school if you plan to stay in the industry?
| +45 | Consumer PE is dying/dead? | 10 | 17h |
| +44 | PE to PortCo Chief of Staff | 19 | 12h |
| +41 | Secondaries Career Outlook: Comp, Exits & Long-Term Upside? | 12 | 1h |
| +20 | Private Equity Office wear | 5 | 4h |
| +18 | Use Cases For Claude Cowork / Claude Code | 2 | 15h |
| +12 | Post-Banking Seats | 7 | 2d |
| +11 | Graduating Before Junior-Summer PE/Growth Internship — How Should I Approach the Firm? | 3 | 2d |
| +8 | How do I go from underpaid to overpaid | 2 | 4d |
| +7 | Oncycle rumors | 1 | 6h |
| +7 | JD, MBA related to PE and other Wall Street Jobs | 2 | 2d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
The problem with megafunds is that most do not make it past the associate level, and those who do are basically required to go to business school. For example, there are many stories of funds promoting 1 VP from a class of 6-8 associates. Even then, the one lucky promote has to go to business school before they can advance to the next level. If anything, an associate to VP role (without an MBA) would be more common in MM, rather than MF. Hope this helps.
A growing but sizeable minority skip the MBA. I worked at a smaller megafund ($7-10bn fund size) in NYC that let people spend two years at a portfolio company and come back as a VP (equal to post MBA)
I didnt want to be stuck at a company in another city for two years so just recruited into a career track senior associate role at a smaller fund. That process starts a few months into your second year as a PE associate. Pretty common for guys at larger funds to “trade down” (for lack of better word) to a smaller fund.
It seems at times that it is possibly easier to get a senior associate / vprole while still working than trying to recruit out of B School, particularly if you arent at HBS. Curious what other opinions are out there on this
Itaque placeat debitis ipsa ad porro totam. Neque animi possimus sed aliquid earum. Quia et in ipsa optio dignissimos.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...