Grad school or Grow from within?

Long story short, quit my job as a wholesaler a few months ago, and hiring into IR etc didnt go as planned. I am now faced with a dilemma. I have two options

  1. Join a upper middle market AM firm as a product manager. This would give me marketability externally, and upward mobility internally. The pay is average. I would not necessarily go to grad school.

  2. Take a remedial client relations job that somehow pays the same as the product role. Days are easy and short, and would be able to attend grad school.

I'm trying to figure out which would serve me best long term. Without grad school, the second option is off the table.

Do you guys think I'm more likely to ball out long term with an MBA and some decent (BB, Top AM, BB) experience, or more likely to channel my current experience (BB, Top AM) internally at a firm?

Dilemmas dilemmas.

Thanks

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