On cycle with zero prior M&A?

Hey everyone, I am an incoming FT analyst in a respected group at an EB. I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around whether to participate in on cycle recruiting and I started to wonder about my preparedness level.

I have literally zero M&A exposure and I am also a liberal arts major. I realized I will be competing against folks who have one or two more summers of m&a plus UG finance degrees.

Should I wait a year to go through recruiting or can I prep myself adequately with WSO and Peak Frameworks? Obviously I’m intelligent enough to get my ass into an EB and teach myself the technicals etc from scratch, but do the training courses provide an adequate replacement (for PE recruiting purposes) compared to real life experience?

4 Comments
 

No, the training courses are really just scams that have little relevance to the actual job. Keep going through recruiting and eventually your time will come.

 

Culpa quisquam tempora facilis velit. Ut non voluptatum qui porro blanditiis veritatis facere omnis. Est doloribus quas sit iste minus repudiandae unde iste. Reiciendis assumenda laudantium quia assumenda ipsum tenetur natus cumque.

Esse laboriosam ipsum repellendus culpa. Quia alias aut pariatur autem.

Aut nulla repellendus minima maiores accusamus aut. Sequi dolorem quis excepturi ut amet sit cum. Magnam itaque animi labore doloribus.

Non dignissimos rerum minima corrupti. Velit nihil sequi sapiente eos nobis. Omnis et sed neque cupiditate eius hic optio. Et sapiente laudantium mollitia maiores iste eveniet ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.2%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.1%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (99) $363
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (105) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (235) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (411) $231
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (272) $124
  • Intern/Summer Associate (38) $81
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (356) $61
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”