Options for non-bankers wanting to join PE

I know the big MFs don't recruit consultants for the most part- if I worked for a UMM could I transfer into a MF later if I was good at the job? Also, is there a significant comp/prestige/wlb difference between UMMs and big MFs? Not sure what the best direction is and don't have anyone to ask- thoughts are appreciated!

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You’re right, a lot of MFs don’t actively recruit consultants, but some do and there are outliers. Typically people go down market than up, but there are outliers as well. Honestly there isn’t much of a difference between the two and they compete against each other in most of the deals anyway, so the line is blurred a lot. Comp is going to be pretty similar, WLB is too (wouldn’t go into MF/UMM PE for any WLB), and the only people who would care about the slight “prestige” difference are not people I would really want to interact with anyway. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t worry about UMM—>>MF as it’s very similar, and frankly a lot of people realize the grind isn’t worth it and don’t make it past a few years at one of these places. I would worry more about what you like / dislike and if that fits PE.

 

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