General career advice on breaking into the front office

I'd like some general career advice on breaking into a front office analyst role. What I've been looking at are CF/M&A/IB advisory, sell side equity research or a buy side analyst role in either a PE, Debt, Infrastructure or just an equity fund.

I'm currently at a Big Four, having recently moved from audit to a modelling team. Now in parallel to this I've also been interviewing for some roles, mostly equity research (from boutiques to bulge brackets) as well as a small and specialized financial advisory firm, plus a few more things in the pipeline.

Now assuming one of these opportunities ends with an offer, I'm just wondering if there's any reason why I might want to stay at my Big Four as opposed to moving across right away even if it might not be to the best front office role out there? Or would I be better off just jumping ship ASAP and then if the role I end up in isn't quite what I'd like it to be, I'd be in a better position to move onwards from there as opposed to my current role?

This is in London by the way so would like to hear things that are relevant to this market.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
10
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”