M&A / PE post 30?

I'm wondering how easy it will be to switch careers at 32.

In short, I have 7 years' experience in Corporate Strategy (mainly operational, i.e. product strategy etc, no real deal / M&A focus), and am trying to work out the best route into M&A / Private Equity.

Some have suggested an MBA at a top school like INSEAD (as it's only 1 year), followed by a summer associate internship at an investment bank (which is possible if you enrol in the Jan MBA intake at INSEAD). However, I've also heard this may end up being futile simply because IBs rarely hire post 30, and even then competition for the summer associate positions is very fierce plus I have no deal experience.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Do I have any chances of getting into M&A or private equity or should I discard this as an unrealistic aspiration?

Thanks

 
short_round:

1) Banks hire 30yrs+ for summer and full-time associate positions
2) Go to a top 10 MBA. The career center and second year students tell you what to do - nearly impossible to fuck up
3) You are likely not going to be able to make the move into PE unless it is some shitbucket lower middle market shop

Just curious.. but what's wrong with being at a shitbucket lower MM PE shop? Isn't that still better than just about any other banking job (maybe outside of BBs)

 
Best Response

If you are at a crappy LMM fund, you are likely getting (1) crappy deal experience and (2) crappy pay (in comparison to IB associates at decent banks). Notice I didn't say just say any LMM - there are strong lower middle market funds, but post-MBA associates without a really strong resume typically are not competitive for those positions.

Which leads me to my point, if you are getting shitty deal experience and getting paid like it, why are you in private equity anyways? To tell your Toyota mechanic or your b-school friends that you work in private equity?

 

Also, rather than fork out $100k for an MBA with no guarantee thereafter, is a plausible option to join as a 2nd or 3rd year analyst? I'm also currently doing my CFA II so have a good understanding of Corp fin, and have had to do a lot of capital budgeting in my current role if that helps. Any thoughts or opinions welcome.

Thanks

 

Thanks ledger123.

Out of interest, why is doing an MBA the only option? Doesn't joining at Analyst 2/3 then working for 2 years to become Associate equate to the same thing without having to take out 1/2 yrs of missed pay + $100k debt?

I just get the impression getting a summer associate internship at an ibank in m&a is not as easy as it seems, nor is it a guarantee. I'd have to use connections / network like hell to get it (which id have to do anyway if i wanted to join as A2/3). Plus if you don't get an internship then you have zero to no hope in getting an offer as all the full time associate positions are filled by the summer interns. And then you have to convert it into an offer, which is usually twice the challenge. If that fails youre almost royally screwed with little to no hope of getting back into banking + $100k in debt. Not to be negative, but I just get the impression that there's very limited room for error via the MBA route. I could be wrong?

 

Sed rem quo tenetur minus rerum eveniet. Vitae quae commodi a in. Natus error molestiae qui dolores praesentium repellat voluptatibus. Accusamus facere ut magni consequatur. Sed tempora necessitatibus et incidunt quaerat et reprehenderit.

Repellat modi odit quod. Voluptates tempore alias ut consectetur deserunt dolores eius.

Voluptatum quis at nihil omnis provident dolore. Quia nihil ut quia sit consequatur quas. Et et quo voluptates quae placeat et in.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

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

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 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

March 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

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”