I've posted a similar question in other section of the forum. Basically i'm a recent graduate with EE undergrad degree from Rensselaer polytechnic inst. and a Ms.Finance from Univ of san francisco. I'd just like to know if it's possible to land a junior ER position in BB or Buy-side firms for me ? Since my school is non-target school for IBD, for Equity research, is it gonna be likely ? I mean, how do they recruit ER ppl at entry-level, does my background fall into the category ?
How does this following career route looked upon: buy-side research analyst -> BB research analyst -> hedge fund PM ?
I know this route looks somewhat weired, but to land a ER job at BB fresh out of school isn't easy for non-targets. Yet the traning and income at BB for research analysts are more valuable and lucrative than buy-side funds at entry-level. It's a meandering path to get to BB for the traning and experience, then switching back to buy-side for the lure of HF. Please throw your comments on this. Thanks.
You sure as hell can get a job in ER. They want people with both technical, industry, and finance. You have all three, and in most cases they will prefer you to a harvard econ major with an MBA.
That is, if they know their head from their ass, which a lot of these folks do not. Look for analysts who have technical backgrounds and/or industry experience as they will see the value you bring. Remember, people tend to hire people who are like them, so avoid the yale history undergrad and you will be fine.
Buyside firms may be more receptive to you as well in that historically many folks from industry went to the buyside, plus they are often smaller firms who have fewer corporate rules of thumb.
Put it this way, if you can get into the buyside, take it and stay the hell there! Screw the $10k you would get on the sell side entry level. Why? Because it is hard to jump back into the buy side from the sell side. And, anyone who tells you that the sell side is better is perhaps fooling themselves because they also work a solid 70 hrs per week whereas the buyside is usually 60 or even less. That, and you stand to make a lot more in the long run on the buy side.
At least, this has been my experience as a chem E who is currently doing exactly what you propose to do. Just be DAMN sure you know EXACTLY why you want to go into ER. In fact, have several reasons, and be able to tell the story of how you reached that decision. (Other than, I woke up one morning and decided to go into ER because I figured it was more lucerative in the long run than engineering).....even if that IS what you are thinking. ;^)
Good luck, and dont mind the rejection you will probably face, realize that you may have to interview a dozen times to find one or two analysts who really get it. Those are the good ones anyhow.
Thanks for your insightful comments, ChemEtoVC. It's been really helpful. My only concern is that since it's really difficult to land a HF analyst job at the first place, is getting a buy-side job at Mutual fund or pension fund worthwhile after all ? Wouldn't be easier to switch to HF from BB equity research role than mutual fund analyst ? Thanks.
I would say that ANY buy side job is a good one! Also, if you get a job in OPS on the buy side it is FAR easier to work your way into the front office. In my experience, the buyside is far less insecure than the sell side, and secure people tend to realize that a good smart hard worker is an asset, and they thus promote more from within. The result is often that they care less about whether you went to harvard, and more about how well you actually work.
Look, you are not a top candidate (neither am I!), so it might actually be a waste of time trying to get a job at the top 3 HFs. You may, more imporantly, be able to get in to a great place AFTER you have worked on the buy side for a while at a somewhat not-so-great place.
There are also tiny little HFs who are significantly less picky, particularly if they are outside of NYC. Search this forum for HF lists, visit their websites, find the name and email of a human being at the smaller firms, and write a good cover letter email. That's how you do it to be honest, because if you wait for them to have a job open when 1,000,000,000,000 other candidates come rushing to their front door you have a lot more competition.
Also, if you have a perfectly good engineering job you have an advantage in that you do not NEED to find a job! You have the ability to be like a good fisherman and wait for the right fish to come along. Maybe it takes a whole year..maybe 18 months...and, well, maybe it never happens....so what.....you tried, and in the end it will all work out!
Frankly the most important thing to learn from this process is how to walk the road less traveled to get where you are going. It is harder, you must be far more diligent and creative in your methods, but it will make you a better person. Good people will recognize that, and it is a good way to weed the dickheads from the firms that are worthwhile.
Again, thus has been my experience, YMMV!
Good luck!
Also, to get at your ? more directly, yes, I would work at a MF or pension long before the sell side.
But, hey folks, please post your opinions too!
Good thread!
I think starting out in sell-side research would place very well for the more prestigious buy-side positions. Generally, junior sell-side positions have a higher status than junior mutual fund positions. But get good at whatever you do, develop your skills, and then reassess your options. If you are good at what you do, opportunities will present themselves. I would like to work in a prestigious buy-side fund but I have to prove that I have mastered the basics before I can start thinking about that.
1) a generic statement like "in OPS on the buy side it is FAR easier to work your way into the front office" is hard to make. at some buy-side shops you might get a shot if you're lucky and after a couple years, at others you will have absolutely zero shot of moving into an analyst role from the get go. it is completely dependent on the firm mentality, and could go either way.
2) also not sure that more buy-side folks come from industry than sell-side. rarely does anyone go directly from industry to buy-side, except for the rare case of maybe some MD/PHD running a biotech fund or something. sell-siders have a more narrow industry group focus, so they are more forgiving in terms of lack of direct finance experience if you have industry specific expertise (it means more to them).
anyway, for a junior person the difference between buy-side and sell-side are:
1) sell-side has a lot more of a marketing/sales aspect to it. eventually, you're going to be on the phones a lot fielding calls from clients etc. on the buy-side you're the client, so the sell-siders have to kiss your ass, especially the sales.
2) buy-side has shorter hours. think 8-7, maybe 8-8. sell-side has longer hours, especially during earnings season where you could be in from 7am to 12am trying to get a note out. it's not always that bad, but the hrs are longer.
3) sell-siders tend to know their space better, while buy-siders have a better "big picture" view. sell-side firms have hundreds of analysts, with each team covering maybe 15-20 stocks. on the buy-side, each analyst has to cover more stocks because there are less analysts (unless you're at a gigantic mutual fund). at a small shop you will inevitably be a generalist. also, on the sell-side you're following the same stocks unless you switch shops. on the buy-side you're always looking into new names, or wherever opportunity takes you. this can be good or bad depending on what you like.
4) the big sell-side firms have brand name cachet. this helps for business school, and also in an industry where people size you up by where you went to school, where you work and what you do there. sell-side is a good place to be from. the big HFs and mutual funds have cachet as well, but 2nd tier buy-side firms not so much.
i'm currently an analyst at a small buy-side firm. have final round for sell-side @ a 2nd tier BB so obviously my opinion is skewed. hopefully this helps.
As most BB, or maybe all sell-side firms prefer top-tier MBA graduate and only recruite from top10, i think the chance of my landing a sell-side analyst job in BB with a Ms Finance is slim and most likely i'd end up at a buy-side small firm first. Is switching to sell-side after 3-5 years likely and reasonable ? I mean i'd definitely love to stay with a HF if i can break in at the first place, but the reality is far from that easy without BB experience. To be realistic i've to come up with the proposed route above.
Sequi recusandae ut facilis aliquam cum quo aspernatur. Provident ullam quod et consequuntur. Aperiam tenetur quibusdam eius eos molestias maxime eum maiores. Et aut eveniet natus expedita enim vero natus consequatur.
Id magnam unde asperiores qui. Nesciunt incidunt aperiam odio id voluptas rerum adipisci inventore. Vitae aut et maiores aut.
Itaque nostrum nulla ut voluptas. Aliquam et et omnis dolores consequatur tempore. At omnis eum pariatur incidunt iusto odit.
Neque quia aperiam non occaecati et nemo. Voluptatibus amet quidem ipsam pariatur hic consequuntur id excepturi. Mollitia natus enim rerum qui autem minus ea. Adipisci molestias amet non atque maiores tenetur. Temporibus veniam error in.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...