FoF to B-School?
My Profile: Two undergrad degrees (Math and Business) from decent school, CFA, CAIA. Had a 3.8 GPA, good internships, and landed a MO risk role at large investment manager. After 2 yrs, I transitioned into research at the same firm and been working here for the last 4 yrs. Currently making 170-200K and considered a good performer. I'm 30, married, and thinking about starting a family in next 2 years.
The problem is limited growth opportunities in my current role. I lack pedigree and the incumbents above me aren't going anywhere. I'm probably going to be stuck at this level for a while and the work is also getting to be a bit boring. I feel like I need to get closer to the money and long term goal is to have direct PnL responsibility.
I've been thinking about applying to a top b-school. I recently took the GMAT, got a 740 and now trying to figure out what to do with it. The opportunity cost is large, but would a top b-school be worth it for the pedigree and network? Or should I just stick it out and keep my eyes open for any opportunities?
Given where you're at now (both in terms of your career with 6 years experience and in your life where you're close to having kids and settling down), it's now or never, as you probably know.
From a money standpoint, going to b-school full-time is a hard sell - not just for you, but for a lot of folks these days. It's hugely expensive ($100-125K in tuition alone, plus 2 years of forgone after-tax income), and the job opportunities post-MBA are still at a relatively junior level to start.
But if you're going to switch careers or even job functions, you will have to take a pay cut, regardless of whether you go to b-school or not. Especially if you feel it's going to be very difficult to just transition to a PE job from your FoF job without an MBA.
So I would not focus on compensation as the primary driver, and instead focus on whether you think you can get the kinds of jobs you want coming out of b-school that would be harder to get on your own. Also, many people (IB/PE folks included) go back to b-school full-time not just for professional reasons: I'd say a lot are also driven by the desire to take a sabbatical from working, to meet new people who could become lifelong friends, to decompress and reassess their priorities, and all that touchy feely stuff. For many, that experience is worth it on its own regardless of whether they end up with the ideal job out of b-school.
In your case, I'd say schools like H/S are out of reach given your age (too many finance guys applying who are younger than you and will be ahead of you in line). If you're looking to get into PE or HF, I'd look at Wharton, Booth, Columbia -- focus on those three schools and call it a day. None of these are safeties at all, but where you have a reasonable enough chance that barring really bad luck, you should get into at least one of them.
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