Thoughts on Big 4 M&A Consulting to PE

Hi all,

I am a senior honors student at a semi-target with a full-time Big 4 M&A consulting offer, and I'm looking to transition to PE in 2-3 years. My background includes a 3.7+ GPA, a lower-middle market PE internship first year, valuation and advisory consulting sophomore year, and an MM IB internship junior year - though only some returns were given out due to economic conditions despite a strong review. Given my goal of breaking into PE, I would like to know how feasible it is to leverage Big 4 M&A experience as a launching pad. I would greatly appreciate any advice on positioning myself for PE recruiting through an unconventional path. Specifically, how can I best spin my experiences thus far to appeal to PE firms despite not coming directly from IB? Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you!

3 Comments
 

I asked one of my PE networks this question in a call a few months ago, curious about who is in the industry. The only people with a non-IB background breaking into PE mostly comprise of Big 4 M&A with the occasional Big 4 Audit/Tax (probably on the more operational side, though he didn't specify). However, it seems even Big 4 M&A -> PE is still otherwise uncommon, at least at my networks LMM Fund. 

 

Porro asperiores assumenda tempore maxime inventore distinctio eos. Ratione pariatur neque velit similique est. Voluptatem sed rerum ad cupiditate. Eligendi voluptas unde sint. Nam provident facere accusantium labore voluptatem aut dolorem. Nam labore dolorem ratione debitis.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Private Equity

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

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Private Equity

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

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 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

June 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (98) $365
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (104) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (235) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (411) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (272) $124
  • Intern/Summer Associate (38) $81
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (355) $62
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

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...”