There are so many posts about trying to break into private equity (investment team; US firms) that I figured I'd consolidate all these threads as a useful resource. The views below are strictly my own, though supplemented by real-world experiences of myself and friends/classmates.
I've attempted to sequence from most to least likely with odds of success out of 5 (1-5):
- IB (Analyst) >> PE: 5/5, most common path
- MBB Consulting (Pre-MBA) >> PE: 4/5, next most common path, candidates just need to invest in incremental prep (financial modeling, accounting, etc.) and researching the job so interviewers are confident that they're willing to grind and actually complete the full associate program
- Big 4 / FDD (Pre-MBA) >> PE: 2/5, rare path, slightly more achievable with pivot to IB in between
- Other (Pre-MBA) >> PE: 1/5, highly unusual without a familial tie or some sort of unique 'in'
- IB (Analyst) >> IB (Associate) >> PE: 3/5, not particularly common and sometimes hard to line up timing (given associate recruiting is so early) but based on skills/experience/maturity, should technically be attractive candidates as long as not too old (< 27 or 28)
- IB or MBB >> H/S/W MBA >> PE: 1.5-2/5, rare path, post-MBA (VP) roles nearly impossible, pre-MBA (Associate) role would also be highly unusual given timing; probably a 1.5/5 in a normal hiring market but 2/5 for a diverse candidate in a strong hiring market
- Non-IB or MBB >> H/S/W MBA >> PE: 1/5, fairly impossible, I know one person who did this (and requires diversity + strong hiring market + extreme luck)
- Finally, for anyone international (anything short of citizenship, so H1B, etc.), I'd subtract 1-1.5 points from any scenario above. For example, for an international IB/MBB >> MBA, consider entering US PE unfortunately effectively impossible.
- Lastly, if not at H/S/W, subtract 0.5-1 points as unfortunately the path is just even less common, even if top 7 MBA (but not top 3), exception would be favorable regional ties (e.g., Booth grads regain some ground for Chicago-based opportunities)
Note: I've obviously excluded the PE (Associate) >> MBA >> PE (Senior Associate/VP) path since the above is focused on entering PE, not returning to PE.
Not trying to be harsh or dismissive, just pragmatic and hopefully helpful. Welcome discussion and views from others. As mentioned in previous posts, I'm a lucky #6 in the list above, so I approach this partly from personal experience.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's a consolidated view on breaking into Private Equity (PE) from various backgrounds, ranked by likelihood of success:
Paths to Breaking into Private Equity
IB (Analyst) → PE
MBB Consulting (Pre-MBA) → PE
Big 4 / FDD (Pre-MBA) → PE
Other (Pre-MBA) → PE
IB (Analyst) → IB (Associate) → PE
IB or MBB → H/S/W MBA → PE
Non-IB or MBB → H/S/W MBA → PE
Additional Considerations
Exclusions
This pragmatic approach aims to provide a realistic view of the various paths to breaking into Private Equity, based on personal experience and observations from the WSO community.
Sources: How Do I Get Into Private Equity?, Ask me anything - Non Traditional Background to MM PE to H/S/W, Ask me anything - Non Traditional Background to MM PE to H/S/W, IB -> PE -> MBA -> IB -> PE, MBB to PE
wouldn't a section on top non-MBB firms like LEK, OW etc. be helpful too? Probably not the strongest for MFs but at least for MMs based on what i've heard networking it should be around a 2.5-3.5? Although what do I know, still a college monkey.
its the same steps as MBB but the fund options are just worse
I remembered in hindsight that I forgot this permutation. I'd agree, probably remove 1-1.5 points from MBB >> PE path given, for better or worse, firms lend more credibility to MBB prestige. Those from firms with strong CDD/market study operations will tend to place better (LEK/Parthenon/maybe OW) than lower tiered firms and/or those with less exposure to private equity.
Think you’re overestimating how easy MBB->PE is . Much tougher than some of these posts suggest
pretty easy from mck/bain unless you underprep
The MBB path is indeed quite well-trodden. The only caveat is not 100% of firms hire consultants, but there's plenty of threads here that list the firms that do. It ultimately comes down to prep and desire to do the job. Those who fail interviews either didn't do enough self-study to offset the more limited finance/accounting exposure in consulting and/or didn't appear all-in on private equity (e.g., also interviewing at start-ups or VC, ask suspect questions about hours or excessively emphasize associate-level work/life balance, appear unfamiliar with responsibilities of job or don't have any friends/peers who have been associates, etc.).
how does affect not having experience in CDD or PE practice inside MBB? Is that eliminatory?
how it would be related to European market?
I am considering an MBA if I can't land a job to get experience via PE MBA internships
For IB (Analyst) >> PE, does it matter which division in IB I am sitting in?
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