Leaving banking after 1 year to go to buyside (Private Credit)
Currently 1 year into my analyst stint (2 year contract) and have an offer to jump to private credit. The role is exactly what I would like to transition into after my analyst years.
My concern is that I will be leaving banking without extracting as much value as I could/should. Lower deal flow and limited modeling experience makes me think that I shouldn’t rush the transition to buyside. I don’t want to jump and have people think I’m more ramped up than I actually am.
It’s not a large credit group so no structured analyst program / training.
Has anyone made the jump with similar concerns?
Go for it. You will learn a lot more stuff there. Better to get in earlier rather than later. It will be a big adjustment and more work. If it’s ultimately what you want to do, then it’s better to start sooner rather than later
I think the answer to the question depends on how you feel about the current place you have an offer from and whether you think you could potentially do better in the future with another year of experience. If this is a role you would love to exit to in a year and are worried about underperforming, I don’t think you should let that stop you. If you think you’d be able to achieve a similar if not better role in a year, it might be worth staying a little longer, but the return on that time I think will be marginal compared to what you learned in your first year.
Broadly, at my firm when we bring on new associates coming out of banking it’s expected that they will need some guidance for the first 3-6 months as they ramp up, and will typically be staffed under a more experienced associate / sr associate to show them the ropes. People understand that there’s a learning curve associated with the job, and so long as you have a good attitude and people can tell you’re actively trying to improve and learn that’s ok. I’m not sure how additive another year of banking will be to shortening this ramp period, as at the end of the day it is still a different type of role.
One other thing to consider - the job market for investing roles kinda sucks right now. Given the lack of deal flow many places aren’t hiring like they used to because there’s spare capacity within their existing associate pools and people in their current seats are staying put. Based on current M&A volumes and interest rate environment I don’t see why this changes in the next 6-12 months. If you got a decent offer who knows if another one will be there in the future.
Led you in a couple different directions there, but you’re the only one who can make the right decision for yourself. If you’re pumped about this opportunity, you should leave and bet on yourself to work hard and come up the learning curve quickly. If not, then you have to make a judgement call.
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