"Equity is our bread and butter."

Straight out of the mouth of the MS Menlo associate who did all first round interviews on my campus (I'm assuming you're referring to the Menlo Park office?)

IPOs and follow ons is really how that office has made a name for itself over the years. As for exit ops, analysts in the office usually place really well, largely because of the fact that MDs in the office are known for making calls, pushing for analysts, and essentially doing all they can to guarantee good overall placement. A 2nd year MS Menlo coverage analyst recently received an offer from Accel-KKR. Not sure of the rest, but megafund placement is definitely not uncommon.

 

Yes, the pay CAN be better if the economy is doing very well because your bonus will get pretty large. In downturns, don't expect much of a bonus at all.

If you want to stay in the tech/engineering industry, it's better to work at an actual tech company. Yes, the pay is less but you will fit in with the culture more and develop more/broader technical skills.

It's pretty difficult to switch in from a tech role to a front office job... I have not seen it done that often. A better option would be to apply to a quant hedge fund where you can actually use your technical skills... I have a post on getting into finance from an engineering background on my blog, you can find some other tips there.

 

They run all their deals (yes, execution) from the Menlo Park office. Arguably one of the top Tech M&A shops and places very well into PE -- I know a guy personally who went to large cap PE (Silver Lake, KKR, TPG, etc.).

 
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