2nd Year Megafund Analyst -> 2-Year Sabbatical for 2nd Bachelors in UK (Oxbridge)?
I majored in Finance at a semi-target (think NYU/Georgetown). Long story short, I recruited diligently during my college years and ended up with a buyside job out of school. I'm a second year analyst doing credit at a Megafund (Apollo/KKR/Oaktree) in the US, and I'm considering quitting to go to Oxford or Cambridge for a second bachelors in a non-professional discipline that really interests me (Philosophy).
The degree will basically be free (I'd only have to foot ~10k after scholarships/funding, I have >150k in savings). The degree would take two years to complete and I'd be 27/28 after I graduate again. I'd try to work in London afterwards, probably in Finance (PE / Impact Investing) or something tangentially related (Corporate Strategy in Tech).
Is this crazy and irresponsible? Here are my reasons:
- I'm experiencing a combination of boredom and burnout at my current job. I'm sick of it and really want a break. if I just traveled I think the resume gap would be a little difficult to explain, but going to school would seem much more explainable.
- Life is short. There are too many things I want to learn / experiences I want to have and I'm scared it's now or never. I've never studied anything I've been interested in. At college I basically geared myself to graduate with the best job possible, and so I never learned anything I'm passionate about. I also always wanted to be in the Oxbridge academic environment but never had the chance.
- I want to explore living/working in Europe.
My main concern is this: If I have to return to finance afterwards, do you think I could do experienced hire recruiting to get credit for the two years of experience at my current job? Or would I have to recruit for campus positions again? Does anyone know someone who has taken this sort of extended break and come back into the job market?
Thoughts?
Did you consider doing a masters at Oxbridge instead of an UG? What made you specifically choose to pursue an UG again if you dont mind me asking?
I want to study Philosophy but have no training in this discipline. Masters in this field require previous undergrad experience. Plus I think the Oxbridge undergraduate experience is generally considered a superior learning experience than masters.
Yes your background will be valued, will the firms be willing to hire you after 3 years out of the job market as someone that is 2 years into his career - tough to say, only networking with targetted firms/HHs would allow you to bypass the campus position recruiting. Silver Lake for instance hires 1 analyst a year through a HH, I'm sure you'd be a good fit for that but only networking with them would allow you to know if they would hire you for a senior analyst roles directly.
Also note that the cool thing with Europe is that people are way less intense (read you work less) than in the US.
You should definetly follow your dream, if you're confident enough and have a good story, you'll manage your way through. You'll already have 2 years of very strong experience on your resume. If you managed to get a MF analyst job out of college, I'm pretty sure you should be able to find a job in the UK with an Oxbridge degree.
Your best bet would also be to maintain good relationships with your current managers and explain them the rational of your choice (life is too short, etc.) in case you need them to back you for another position in the future.
Have you also looked at Mphil degrees? Can't you get in with a finance undegrad degree?
Go for it - sounds like you're pretty unhappy in your current role
Why not just take a year off to travel around Europe and read philosophy on your own time? Do you really want to spend two years in a formal learning experience with 18 year-olds? I got into Oxford for undergad but chose HYP over it. But I gotta say even though I wasn't a dumb 18 y/o, the depth and maturity of my thinking at 18 vs 22 is so staggeringly different. I can't imagine what your experience will be like as a 25 y/o doing tutorials with teenagers (who also probably think they know everything about this world)
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