+3,202 8 years old with no finance experience, too late to get into PE? 115 3mo
+938 My Private Equity Recruiting Process 135 7mo
+895 Overview of Infrastructure Private Equity 124 1y
+871 High finance not worth it for women 238 1mo
+829 Why The Grass Isn't Greener: The Private Equity Associate Crisis (PEAC) 61 8mo
+804 Is it just me or are PE Associates garbage these days? 140 4mo
+789 Working in PE is hell on earth 156 3y
+725 From Private Equity Associate to VP in Private Equity 104 2y
+718 Family Office is Paradise 57 1y
+707 Random Things I Wished I Knew About PE 75 3y
+693 Thoughts From a MF PE Associate 97 2y
+691 MF PE is Paradise...LOL 148 3y
+613 Former MS M&A / KKR here to field questions 255 5y
+609 How do I get my kids into top 5 schools? 242 3y
+608 Q&A: Retired After a Career in Private Equity 147 2y
+601 Is Apollo that bad? 271 2mo
+577 Do your associates just not care? 126 2y
+572 Why I Left PE & Switched to the Public Markets 79 1y
+510 Q&A - Infrastructure PE & IBD 216 1mo
+503 THEN and NOW: @CompBanker 79 4y
+497 For those who exited PE, any regrets? 195 1mo
+496 10 Years. 10 Hard-Earned Lessons in PE. 37 7mo
+493 What we can learn from all these "depressed and burnt out" posts re: IB and PE 91 4mo
+487 What Was Your Biggest Career Setback; How Did You Recover? 79 1y
+482 Why is everyone in love with PE? 83 4y
+478 I should have been a marketing girly (a rant) 139 10mo
+471 To all Consultants considering PE 97 1mo
+468 Private Equity Analysis is a Joke 90 3w
+468 Why do people choose megafunds over MM? 182 7y
+456 Let's be honest about PE 222 1y
+442 Associate guide on analyzing an income statement 38 2y
+428 What lessons you learned the hard way so everyone else doesn't have to? 59 5mo
+426 Reading List for Intellectual Killers 162 3y
+421 Did on cycle just start? 543 3y
+420 London MF REPE is paradise 32 15h
+416 Girlfriend vs PE 86 3y
+416 Q&A: 3rd Year PE Associate ($10bn+ AUM, MBO/LBO, equity, mezz, distressed debt) 135 4y
+408 Is Private Equity a Low-IQ Approach to Finance? 160 4y
+398 BDT & MSD Updated Views 127 2y
+394 Buyside vs. Sellside... You might be thinking about it wrong 51 1y
+392 What’s up with the Apollo and Warburg Associates emails 168 2mo
+390 Bonus hit and feeling... nothing? 37 4y
+390 LOLing at private equity bros 106 2y
+384 PE long-term attractivity: Is the trodden path "broken"? Quo vadis gen Y? 134 4y
+380 The unspoken truth about PE handcuffs 63 2y
+375 Prestige Rankings Thread - PE firms 123 1y
+374 Walking away from buyside after associate years 58 3y
+372 Path to 8 Figure Wealth 147 3y
+370 PE vs HF Personalities 62 3y
+368 PE Recruiting Prep Guide - 2024 35 1y
+360 More negative press on Apollo 132 3y
+359 Musings on Private Equity 55 1y
+355 2022 Private Equity Headhunter Coverage 71 1y
+344 Q&A: PE Secondaries Principal 287 1y
+343 Why the hate towards growth PE / sourcing (e.g. KKR Tech)? 73 3y
+342 Is PE fucked for our generation 99 5mo
+342 Worse than IB? 86 3y
+341 My (successful) experience with on-cycle this year 71 1y
+341 KKR 2021 Analyst Program 617 4y
+340 Distressed Investing: This Time It's Different 33 6y
+333 No VP Promote from Sr. Associate - Seeking Advice 72 2w
+333 Q&A: Non-target → Top Bucket SSG Private Credit/Direct Lending 66 3y
+330 VPs+ are you happy ? 132 4mo
+329 Beyond Miserable - Tough Time Deciding To Quit PE / IB Life Altogether 98 9mo
+329 Millionaire by 30 95 5y
+326 What replaces Private Equity? What's the next popular exit opportunity? 150 4y
+325 WOMEN IN PE - Easier recruiting? 124 2y
+323 Please Tell Me I Can Look Forward to PE 70 2y
+321 HIG in 2024 127 1y
+321 Dobby is a free elf 66 3y
+319 2025 Year-End Net Worth Check-In 292 4mo
+317 STOP obsessing about windows to jump thru for PE!!! 26 3y
+316 MF PE Recent Returns 125 5mo
+316 What happened to American Securities? 65 3mo
+314 This is ideal living 55 1y
+314 Buyside recruiting is really demoralizing as a non-target 70 3y
+314 I love prestige. 19 4y
+313 You do not make real money in finance, in my view 108 1y
+311 2023 On-cycle is a disaster 81 3y
+310 How Do I Get Into Private Equity? 230 3y
+308 Q&A: GS/MS IB Analyst —> Megafund PE Associate —> HBS/GSB Business School 100 5y
+306 Sr Asso / VP Unemployment Check-in 315 1w
+305 Q&A - Analyst at Top PE Fund (TPG, KKR, BX, OAK, Carlyle, APO) 229 6y
+298 VC in LatAm is wild 69 4y
+296 Any Others Dealing With Competitiveness Among Associates / Cut Throat Office Culture? 138 6y
+294 Q&A: European PE professional at a Large-cap Megafund 119 5y
+291 How Claude disrupts deal team structure? 102 6mo
+287 Must Know Finance Terms 69 6y
+285 PE Associate Jumps to Death / Discussion on Mental Health 45 3y
+282 Selfish Ask for Help in Situation 60 3y
+282 Q&A: London REPE MF Associate 105 2y
+281 Weird seating arrangement changing my perception hard 41 1y
+278 On Cycle 2025 Kickoff 386 9mo
+277 The Private Equity Boogeyman 57 7mo
+276 Vista vs Thoma Bravo 101 1y
+276 The Promised Land of Private Equity Turned out to be a "Monster Land" 106 6y
+275 The Long Game - 20 years ago / 20 years from now 62 1y
+275 Warburg Pincus 2021 FT Analyst 262 4y
+274 Throwing in the towel at age 31/32 48 8mo
+272 Just got in to the carry pool today fellas. 90 2y

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (56) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

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From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

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