Exit Opps from Big 4 Valuation?

Graduating from a non-target in the spring. Going into a business valuation group doing purchase price allocations and goodwill impairments with one of the Big 4 (not in NYC). Curious if MBA would be need to transition into IB/HF/PE.

Also, how do exit opps compare if one were to be at a different valuation firm (Duff & Phelps, HLHZ, etc.)?

Lastly, would any monkeys be willing to share their take on working in valuation (pros and cons, reputation)?

 
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I did a LinkedIn search of people who worked at a big 4 valuation group. Here is what I found. 

Valuation at another firm/valuation at a PE/HF, which is a middle office role: 40%

IB: 20% (about 75% boutiques with some MMs and low tier BBs)

ER: 12%

CD: 8% (usually at large private or small public companies but some notable names like GE)

FP&A: 8%

Other like econ consulting, corporate strategy, HF, PWM: 12%

These exits exclude those who stayed at their big 4 firm, which is pretty common. Exit ops will vary based on projects you work on.

I think of a lot of people stay in valuation since the pay is decent (way below IB but better than most non high finance careers), hours are manageable, and some find the work interesting. Also, people in valuation tend not to be as focused on careers and care more about work life balance than those in IB/PE.

It seems like Duff and HL FAS have more IB exits than big 4, but I doubt the difference is significant. If you are willing to put in the effort to network, you should be able to break into a decent IB boutique/LMM. You could lateral again if you want a better name for recruiting since you will probably be going for off-cycle positions anyways.

If you want HF, I would consider looking into ER since they care less about your background, so you well have a better chances at getting into a top ER group compared to a top IB group if you are good.

 

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