Top 10 Undergrad, Top 10 MBA... Unemployed 3 months, 2 not great offers to decide between
My story:
- did a degree at a top 10 undergrad
- a few years consulting at a small place focused on industry A
- Went to top 10 MBA
- Did internship in strategy for largecap firm in industry A
- Switched to banking and got post-MBA Associate role at mid-tier BB covering industry A
- Spent about a year in banking, didn't get any live deal experience at all
- Had to take almost a year off work due to health reasons (left the bank)
- Took mid-office role at large PE/HF
- A year in, I pushed for a move to investing team with a semi-ultimatum, got shot down, they found out I was interviewing and I got pushed out / asked to leave.
Since then (3 months ago), I've been interviewing a ton, mostly trying to land a role back in IB and had interviews with BBs, EBs, MMs, even a couple crap-tier places... nothing I could get to an offer. I've had a few investing-focused interviews, consulting, you name it. Counting the interviewing I was doing before I got pushed out, it's been almost 6 months that I've been interviewing.
I've finally gotten some offers, but I'm not sure about their prospects.
- One is an equity research associate role covering industry A. This is at a pretty small place (Cowen, Piper, etc.). Salary is ~75% what a fresh post-MBA ER associate makes at a decent firm, and bonus seems a lot lower
- The other is an IB Associate role at a 3-4 man shop with just one MD. Salary is about the same as the other offer (trying to negotiate it up, bonus is who knows? They close deals pretty irregularly. These are $5-$25 million transaction size deals when they do get done. They don't even have a real health insurance plan (I'm married and might be having kids soon; who knows what happens to wife's job).
I'm not sure either of these places are things I can do for more than a year or two, and I have ~30 years left in my career.
ER is dying eventually, so I'd need to either move to an investing role eventually (tough) or some kind of corporate role in the industry.
With the banking job, is going to such a small place going to prevent me from going to even a solid MM shop afterwards?
I'm not sure what sets me up best for the long term. I don't know exactly what I want to do but feel like I'd be OK doing a few different things as long as I know I have decent career/earnings prospects.
Would appreciate anyone's thoughts or advice.
This is actually a fascinating situation, and you laid it out clearly. It sounds like you are not excited about either role that you have on the table at the moment. A few thoughts:
First, finding a post-MBA IB role should not be that difficult - I literally get multiple emails every single day from HHs seeking to fill spots at BBs, EBs, MMs, etc in New York and all across the country. It feels to me that the banks really need bodies, and you're well educated and have relevant experience. I know it FEELS like a long time, but 3 months (post job) is not actually that long to be interviewing.
Second, how are you telling your story? I'd be interested to hear your spin on the last couple years since MBA. Bad stuff happens to everyone (the health thing was out of your control, presumably, although the firing from the PE/HF seems like it was a little more in your control) and I think in general there are definitely ways to sell the story without it scaring people off.
Finally, do you have a safe enough financial situation that you can afford to ride it out for 2-3 more months in search of something that's a better fit? In your shoes, I would hold out and keep grinding for the RIGHT thing, even if it takes a few more months. I believe it'll be worth it in the end, to be somewhere you feel more satisfied with.
If you're really in a bind, I'd take the ER role. It's at a brand name place (even if they're smaller, people still know the Cowen, Piper etc names, and they are respected within ER) and it is a proper job with regular responsibilities, pay and health insurance. The other one scares me a bit. If they don't even offer real health insurance, it's guaranteed that there are a LOT of other structural things lacking that you'll only discover when you get there. This isn't a criticism of those guys, but just the reality of working in a super small shop is entrepreneurial by nature and you are not going to get a lot of the safety net you'd get elsewhere. Also if they irregularly close deals, you may not gain the experience you're looking for, so at the end of a year you could find yourself in (another) pretty shitty situation.
Maybe ~5% of ppl who go into ER "move up"... the exits are notoriously the most vast cuz you gain a more transferable fundamental investing skillset/mindset. Coupled with your IB deal experience and MBA it seems like this would open doors into the jobs you'd really want on the buyside in AM or at a HF. After barely even a year on the job, with your background, you'd be getting looks from HHs. I'd lift that offer if I were you.
Also, ER isn't dying necessarily that's a misinformed take. Broadly its shrinking as the BB firms that post-MFiD can't receive the degree of comp for their services, it's becoming less core to their business. But, this actually is an opportunity for the Pipers/Cowans: Corporate Access and Research Coverage is a fundamental market need and these types of shops are gaining share while becoming relevant in Mid-cap/Large-Cap names.
Think of the ER gig as a revolving door with a steady check and benefits in the mean-time.