What Can I do post-MBA?
Did IB for ~1.5 years then moved to a corporate strategy role. Want to go back into financial services after finding corporate very slow both general career and pay progression and not sure if an MBA makes the most sense to do so. I've thought about whether going back into IB (either lateral back in as analyst if possible or post-MBA associate) makes sense to "reset" a bit and potentially pursue investing roles after a few years. Also thought about an MBA to get into consulting as a middle ground for pace and a blend of my IB and corporate roles.
Through banking I only knew of getting an MBA either to completely reset from non finance careers and start in banking, or those that started in banking going to b-school to continue PE post-MBA so don't really have any examples to go off of in my case of going IB -> corporate and further progression from there. I've seen people go corporate after an MBA too probably for a better lifestyle but I want to get back on the grind for career progression again. Appreciate any input on personal experiences or advice on what I could look into next.
Bump - don't really know anything about getting an MBA so really any advice is appreciated.
bump
I graduated from Stanford GSB several years ago. DM me.
Just sent you a DM - thanks!
An MBA is a great career reset, and in your shoes can def be used to pivot to the buyside.
Any of the M7s combined with your IB and corp strategy experience can be used to move directly into an investing role post-MBA.
I wouldn't be concerned that corp start has impacted your career progression, nothing a top MBA can help.
Best of luck.
Thanks, really appreciate the input. From what I understand investing roles post-MBA are quite difficult to get, especially without pre-MBA investing experience (and my IB experience is also relatively short). Not sure if my cumulative experience is “enough” for post mba roles.
I was in a similar position. Ended up going back to banking for 2 years and then moved to PE as a sr associate. Really comes down to your risk appetite and market conditions
Separate question - I know from the IB path, its mostly those that go to UMM / MF that get into the top schools. Are my chances much lower now from a corporate role or is it just viewed differently? Not sure what the equivalent "prestige" metric is in corporate vs. the whole GS -> Apollo -> H/S/W route.
If you want to grind now, go back into banking now. I can tell you that at 27 I was still willing to grind, but I was not in the same mindset as I finished my MBA and got engaged. You never know how you'll feel down the line.
I'd also caution you that a full time MBA might make you feel stagnant. I had an investing background pre-MBA, and I feel like I learned almost nothing during business school - it was more of a recruiting platform to make a career pivot.
Thanks appreciate the perspective. I wouldn’t mind going back to banking, but not sure how feasible it is to lateral as analyst with all the competition being currently in banking and also the lateral market seems like it will remain dead for the foreseeable future. Definitely would prefer to just start grinding now instead of the b-school path but not sure how possible it will be given the market right now.
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