Starting in Buy-side vs Sell-side

Is getting an MBA directly out of your undergraduate worth it? Basically i’ve heard of two paths to take. Go get my undergraduate and try to get into an investment banking analyst job (sell side). Or go get my undergraduate and directly after get my MBA for a target school and go into the buy side (private equity). I know there are multiple ways to get to your end goal but these or two ways i’m debating to take. What’s your opinion on starting in the buy side compared to the sell side?

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First off, there is no point in getting an MBA out of undergrad, seriously. No respectable MBA would take you with 0 real work experience. You do the MBA when your pay and responsibilities begin to plateau to maximize future potential or to rebrand.

That said, you could potentially go straight to PE out of undergrad, but it is quite rare to get in a good spot at a reputable firm. Personally, I went straight out of UG to AM which is also the buyside but that is also pretty rare and I lucked out.

If PE is your end goal, just follow the tried and true path of IB -> PE. After a 2 year IB stint and a 2 year PE stint is when people start usually thinking about MBA.

 

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