5 Comments
 
Best Response

It really depends on the person's pre-MBA work experience and what school they go to. Obviously, the better the school, more options you have and easier it would be to make a transition. At the same time though, certain transitions, like trying to get into PE or HF without any relevant experience is NOT gonna happen even if you are coming out of HBS.

Among the students at top programs, going into MBB consulting, either from a lower consulting firm or from a different industry altogether (engineering is very common) is probably the most common transition. Also, going into IB is quite common, especially for those who were in "lower-tier" finance like accounting for a Big 4 or those who did military or government before b-school and want to make money.

IB to HF or PE is the most difficult because it's so coveted, and you're competing against other finance superstars. IB to ER or S&T is definitely more common, but pure trading roles are VERY tough to get since there are so few spots. The recent regulatory regime has not helped matters either. Most of the MBA's who do land at S&T desks at bulge bracket banks end up in sales.

 

Thanks Brady - That's good stuff

But I'm not really asking about directly out of school - I meant transitioning once you have already done 2-7 yrs (arbitrary) in IB or MC - POST MBA.

You're saying that PE/HF is unlikely even after 3-5 years out of HBS?

I know that a top HF out of a 10-15 MBA is unlikely - but my question goes more like this:

Can: Small HF + top 15MBA+3yrs BB IB = Large HF Analyst or some of the other tranisitions that I mentioned above.

Basically, what are the exit opps for post mba associates/VPs (everyone discusses PE, but Im more concerned with the other options)? and how much does pre-mba experience help? How easily can the guys that are 30+ move around?

Doesn't anyone ever see senior associates and VP's at their IB leave for something else?

 

Oh, I misread your original post.

It does get easier the more experience you have after b-school. So if you work at a good IB group for a few years after b-school, yes, transition to HF or PE is totally possible and rather common. However, the most elite PE firms like blackstone/kkr/carlyle/bain capital, etc., do tend to only hire people from a few select schools, mostly HBS/Stanford/Wharton. But for almost everything else, any top b-school combined with good post-mba work experience should be fine.

As a general rule, the older you get, the less your pre-mba work experience matters. If someone is at a small hedge fund making good money and his other credentials are in order, he should go for the top 7 b-schools and then leverage that into landing at a larger fund. Going from a hf to a BB IB is usually a step down.

 

Got it. that is exactly what I figured. Thanks Brady

Yes, most would see it as a step down but I was more on the execution side- with some exposure to the investment themes - but since it was macro-based, I have no real experience with the financial statements or modelling. This makes my options limited.

My thought process was that MBA+IB would fill in the gaps for a L/S fund - as am i very unlikely to transition into a large Macro fund from MBA (they like former sell side traders and academic-type economists, not to mention H/S/W/C)

Anyone have experience moving into industry from IB? Would one generally have to relocate from the NY area? Or Going into consulting at Delloite/Booz/Moniter/Lek/OW type firms and transitioning from there?

 

Impedit quis qui facere sapiente. Iste tempora voluptas sint voluptatibus enim quod. Alias earum qui odio deserunt in harum. Nesciunt quis maiores sit ad. Harum iure voluptatem culpa nihil odio placeat. Sunt aspernatur quia in laudantium et nostrum quod.

Minus qui est dicta quo. Numquam est ipsam qui laboriosam doloribus temporibus sed. Est vero vitae autem debitis ipsum debitis ut. Cupiditate nesciunt vel distinctio. Ullam laboriosam aliquam adipisci tempore enim. Sit quod sapiente maxime expedita est quisquam aut.

Saepe quia enim voluptatem molestiae voluptatem. Quasi fugiat cumque sequi sunt aliquid. Ex possimus aut provident optio molestiae neque minus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
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...”