PE Analyst role offer

I'm a CPA currently working in TAS. I received a PE analyst offer at a small firm that focuses on carve outs. The firm is legit as I have friends who know the founders personally. Problem is they aren't offering me any bonus incentives and is strictly a base salary thats less then I currently make (maybe can negotiate up).  In addition, I am not really sure what my true exit opportunities are as well if I take this role. My long term goal is to work in PE, but I would rather go into IB and possibly get in at a bigger/more reputable firm as an associate. However, Im afraid that I wont break in because of the recent job market. I have been dual tracking IB analyst and PE analysts role but have gained zero traction for anything in IB. I am questioning whether I should take this as Im afraid of pigeonholing myself and possibly not becoming associate at this firm or another one.  Any advice would be appreciated!

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What is the base salary? Have they had people leave before, and where did they go?

IMO this is a step forward from where you are now. If you want to get into IB as an associate you'll have to do an MBA, I have never seen a lateral associate with no IB experience.

IB lateral analyst market is basically shut right now unless you have IB experience, imagine it will stay that way until at least late 2023. Hard to say exits from a firm without knowing much about it (i.e. is this a 3 man startup shop or are they legit with some track record), but would think you could exit from this job into a slightly larger PE firm (even bigger LMM would be an upgrade) and move up from there, or lateral into a boutique/regional boutique IB.

The salary being lower than TAS is kind of concerning - money is not really important at this stage but I do question the legitimacy/success of a firm paying way under market

 

I kept it vague for anonymity purposes but yes they have a proven track record and its about 30 people at the firm. Investment team is only 3 people though. theyve done 12 deals in the past 12 months. salary is 100k 

 

Eh 100k isn't terrible. I was expecting you to say 70k or something totally ridiculous. I'd see if they could do 110k but I wouldn't walk away from an offer over it.

If you can afford the pay cut I would do it and start looking around again in 9-12 months at lateral analyst roles, likely regional boutique/MM. You can only make the massive jumps from tiny firm to BB/EB in a wildly hot market like 2021 where they are desperate for people. Or stay in PE and try to move to a bigger firm in a few years. But having PE analyst and a few closed deals on your resume is going to be a huge advantage over more time in irrelevant roles.

 

Strictly base and lower comp than TAS is concerning, but in the current market any offer is worth considering, and if you stick with the new path what you make in 10-15 years will massively outweigh even the difference between the highest paying associate roles and whatever you make now. Having "Private Equity Analyst" on your resume will be a huge step forward in establishing a career in M&A, whereas an extra 2 years in TAS has a good chance of pigeonholing you or at best leaving you still looking for entry-level roles.

 

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