+3,166 8 years old with no finance experience, too late to get into PE? 114 3y
+935 My Private Equity Recruiting Process 135 3mo
+889 Overview of Infrastructure Private Equity 124 10mo
+860 High finance not worth it for women 246 3h
+826 Why The Grass Isn't Greener: The Private Equity Associate Crisis (PEAC) 61 4mo
+804 Is it just me or are PE Associates garbage these days? 140 1w
+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
+659 Then and Now: @APAE 149 5mo
+613 Former MS M&A / KKR here to field questions 255 4y
+609 How do I get my kids into top 5 schools? 242 3y
+608 Q&A: Retired After a Career in Private Equity 147 1y
+600 Is Apollo that bad? 270 11mo
+577 Do your associates just not care? 126 2y
+571 Why I Left PE & Switched to the Public Markets 79 1y
+502 THEN and NOW: @CompBanker 79 4y
+493 What we can learn from all these "depressed and burnt out" posts re: IB and PE 91 3w
+492 10 Years. 10 Hard-Earned Lessons in PE. 37 3mo
+490 For those who exited PE, any regrets? 194 5mo
+488 Q&A - Infrastructure PE & IBD 214 3y
+485 What Was Your Biggest Career Setback; How Did You Recover? 79 1y
+482 Why is everyone in love with PE? 92 5y
+478 I should have been a marketing girly (a rant) 139 6mo
+468 Why do people choose megafunds over MM? 182 6y
+460 Private Equity Analysis is a Joke 89 3w
+456 To all Consultants considering PE 92 2y
+456 Let's be honest about PE 222 12mo
+439 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 1mo
+426 Reading List for Intellectual Killers 162 3y
+421 Did on cycle just start? 543 2y
+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 3y
+395 BDT & MSD Updated Views 127 2y
+394 Buyside vs. Sellside... You might be thinking about it wrong 51 1y
+390 Bonus hit and feeling... nothing? 37 3y
+390 LOLing at private equity bros 106 1y
+385 What’s up with the Apollo and Warburg Associates emails 167 1y
+384 PE long-term attractivity: Is the trodden path "broken"? Quo vadis gen Y? 134 3y
+380 The unspoken truth about PE handcuffs 63 2y
+373 Walking away from buyside after associate years 58 2y
+373 Prestige Rankings Thread - PE firms 123 1y
+372 Path to 8 Figure Wealth 147 3y
+370 PE vs HF Personalities 62 2y
+365 PE Recruiting Prep Guide - 2024 35 1y
+360 More negative press on Apollo 132 3y
+359 Musings on Private Equity 55 8mo
+352 2022 Private Equity Headhunter Coverage 71 1y
+344 Q&A: PE Secondaries Principal 287 11mo
+342 Is PE fucked for our generation 99 1mo
+342 Worse than IB? 87 2y
+341 KKR 2021 Analyst Program 617 4y
+340 My (successful) experience with on-cycle this year 72 1y
+340 Why the hate towards growth PE / sourcing (e.g. KKR Tech)? 73 2y
+340 Distressed Investing: This Time It's Different 33 6y
+333 Q&A: Non-target → Top Bucket SSG Private Credit/Direct Lending 66 3y
+329 VPs+ are you happy ? 132 3w
+329 Beyond Miserable - Tough Time Deciding To Quit PE / IB Life Altogether 98 5mo
+328 Millionaire by 30 95 4y
+326 What replaces Private Equity? What's the next popular exit opportunity? 150 4y
+325 No VP Promote from Sr. Associate - Seeking Advice 66 3y
+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 8mo
+321 Dobby is a free elf 66 3y
+317 STOP obsessing about windows to jump thru for PE!!! 26 2y
+316 MF PE Recent Returns 125 1mo
+315 What happened to American Securities? 64 11mo
+314 2025 Year-End Net Worth Check-In 292 3w
+314 This is ideal living 55 1y
+314 I love prestige. 19 4y
+312 You do not make real money in finance, in my view 108 1y
+312 Buyside recruiting is really demoralizing as a non-target 70 3y
+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 4y
+305 Q&A - Analyst at Top PE Fund (TPG, KKR, BX, OAK, Carlyle, APO) 229 6y
+298 VC in LatAm is wild 69 3y
+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
+292 Sr Asso / VP Unemployment Check-in 302 2mo
+291 How Claude disrupts deal team structure? 102 2mo
+287 Must Know Finance Terms 69 6y
+285 PE Associate Jumps to Death / Discussion on Mental Health 45 2y
+282 Selfish Ask for Help in Situation 60 2y
+282 Q&A: London REPE MF Associate 105 1y
+278 On Cycle 2025 Kickoff 386 5mo
+278 Weird seating arrangement changing my perception hard 41 1y
+277 The Private Equity Boogeyman 57 3mo
+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
+272 Just got in to the carry pool today fellas. 90 2y
+272 Carried Interest Done Away w/ in Manchin-Schumer deal 145 3y
+272 Private Equity or Pizza Equity? 71 7y

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
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...”