MM PE vs Consulting/IB - PLS HELP!

I am currently a Econ junior at a target undergrad (Duke, U Chicago, Cornell) deciding between returning full-time to a Tier 2 consulting firm (LEK, Strategy&) & IB firm (BNP Paribas, William Blair) or accepting an analyst internship offer at a MM PE firm (1 billion AUM). All the offers are for NYC.

If I were to stay in consulting or IB, I intend to transition to PE after two years. 

The MM PE firm is a smaller team, but is reputable and has a strong path from analyst --> associate after 2 years. 

My concerns/factors that I am considering are:
-  Is it better to just start off as PE analyst, when the buy-side exits aren't as certain from consulting?
-  If I wanted to lateral to an upper MM / MF post-MBA, which background is better? How do other MM PE firms view MM PE analyst backgrounds?
- How much value should I place on a bigger network of people at consulting/IB, especially since I am just moving to NY?

Thoughts? Advice?

2 Comments
 

My perspective (ex-consultant, joined MM PE) is if you have a lot of conviction in working for a PE fund then going straight into a buy side role.

You will have to work extra hard to make up for the lack of professional development (modeling, ppt, presenting) and work ethic that 2 years consulting or IB beats into you. From that point of view, you should check if 2 years to Associate is realistic if there are any benchmarks of others that have followed a similar path.

On the flip side, many consulting and IB roles like to take individuals straight out of undergrad so do you think you will be giving up any optionality on this front?

 

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