Non-target to MMPE, What's Next?
Graduated from a non-target mid-west state school 2 years, Just finished my 2-year MMIB analyst stint and about to start my MMPE job in NYC soon. Everything seems like a cliche and non surprising. Lurking on WSO since sophomore year and coming from non-target and non-URM, I knew my chance at top BB and EB is minimal. Did mediocre networking in undergraduate and have talked with ~1000 people since then.
75% of the convos were monotonous, where I tried to impress them and show I am different than other non-target guys. 10% time the convos were very good, primarily because they were having a good day. Seem likes everyone in MM has similar stories and grinding. Fortunate enough it was a good time for banks to expand and I accepted MM offer knowing a very small portion made it to UMM and my destination is MMPE in NYC.
The post is actually not about I am tired of grinding, rather how can I jump out of the chain? I have rarely seen people talk about what's the destined path after 2 years in MMPE? It would be good if I move to the principle path since I don't want to burnout and settle. At the same time, I want to aim higher and see where can I end up with. Nothing wrong with MM, but I would like to close more high-profile deals. Is my chance at UMM or MF diminished?
The next logical step would be business school followed by more PE. Like me, you can use business school as a way to rebrand your academic experience given you didn’t go to a top university for undergrad. After this, the ball is in your court to secure a post-MBA role at a larger fund as this appears to be what you’re after. Not really sure what to say other than that. You’re pretty much on as close to the defined path as you can possibly be as the IB —> PE —> MBA —> PE route is about as cookie cutter as it gets.