Can anyone speak to career development as an IB associate entering a MM position post-MBA?
I am an M7 MBA student, and after going through OCI it looks like I will likely be going to a MM IB in a tech coverage group this summer. Aimed at BB but not looking likely at this point.
I never saw post-MBA IB as a route to PE - I am interested in either staying on as a banker long term, or moving to a corp dev role after a few years.
I am interested to know:
What differences have you seen in your ability to move up the ranks in IB vs those at larger banks?
How do potential corporate opportunities differ? Are there still opps for good roles, just largely at MM companies, or is it much harder to transition out of IB?
Has anyone successfully gone from MM IB summer associate to BB/EB FT associate?
Thank you!
Is it a bank in the WB/Baird/HW grouping? If so, you can have a great career at any of these banks. I went to a Top10 MBA program and had many, many classmates choose those previously mentioned banks over BB. Primarily because they were looking at long-term banking careers and those banks offered a career path that they preferred.
similar bank to that yeah
Then just depends on what experience you want. Any of those banks that I mentioned offer a great career path and at or above street comp that is 100% cash.
I honestly don't think BB especially at the post-MBA level are all they're cracked up to be. Depends on group and bank obviously but a lot of crap you have to deal with and with a bullpen of analysts beneath you, you may not develop the technical skills that you otherwise would at a MM bank. I know you say you don't want to go to PE but I actually think MM IB associate to PE makes more sense than BB just because you'll almost exclusively be working on sell-sides and doing a ton of MM deals. If you want to stay in banking, MM culture may be better than BB. Longer-term, the bigger concern is that relationships at BBs are obviously easier to develop and maintain than trying to grow within a MM bank. It is obviously doable and the target companies may not always overlap but obviously having that balance sheet to start a relationship helps as opposed to being a VP/director and create a rolodex out of nothing. I would caveat that I am talking MM shops like Baird/HW that are almost exclusively sell-side and not MM banks that have lending platforms. Those banks will resemble BB type models more but could be less deal flow, at least of the sexy kind. In terms of moving corporate, I think BBs probably set you up a little better just given access to more products and name-brand recognition. If you move early enough (first few years), I'm sure the skills aren't that different and you could transition into a corp dev type role. But the longer you stay at a MM IB, it's probably not as seamless a transition. Not impossible by any stretch but like you'll see MDs from BBs move to Head of Corp dev or Treasurer roles or even CFOs that aren't likely from MM IB.
Now the other thing I'd say is that this isn't a life sentence. You seem a bit defeated. I don't think BB is that great just given you have to do a ton of relationship management stuff, coordinate pitches of random products, likely handle staffing and workflow as an associate. But you could probably transition into a BB after a year or two especially if this board is any indication of the turnover banks may have. Don't burn bridges, stay networking, use your b-school friends and roles will shake loose at the associate level.
Thanks, this is helpful. I think you are right in theory, but the reason I am not looking to PE is that my understanding is the path there doesn't tend to make sense coming out of an associate role, as you would generally need to take a paycut, come in at the same level (associate), and move to a smaller firm with a less certain career path. That said, it is possible at a smaller bank like this the career path is uncertain anyway, not sure.
You are right, I do feel a bit defeated. I thought I was doing fairly well in the process, getting to final rounds with several BB/EB, but haven't managed to receive any offers. Trying to figure out whether the smaller company role still aligns with my goals for getting into IB.
I've been constantly advised by my professors and mentors to not worry too much about the future in this light. This may not be the answer you're looking for but I was fairly surprised to learn that a lot of MBA associates leave banking or finance altogether after working only 2-3 years. I always thought MBA associates were in for the long term, to become career bankers but our career office (M7 school) showed us their stats that more than half left their post-MBA finance jobs within 3 years.
I am aware of this, that is why I am asking about corporate opportunities coming from MM. I am guessing that it would be much easier to get something like corp dev at a FAANG coming from a BB bank, but questioning whether that just means you are solidly in the running for corp dev at companies in the 1-5B range, or if it is extremely difficult to make that transition coming from the smaller firm/deal size.
Interested in associate IB career, heard they are less open to promoting internally at senior levels but would love more insight.
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