Who am I to say whether you’re a longshot? Obviously there are a lot of other variables including personal fit, economic cycle, type of firm, etc. When I think of top investment managers, I think of Fidelity, Capital Group, Wellington, etc. where starting base is in the neighborhood of $200-250K. In those cases, you’d be competing with people that had awesome direct investment experience beforehand most likely on the hedge fund side or major PE shops (Blackstone, KKR Bain Capital, Carlyle, etc.). So while it’s conceivable that you could get a job there coming from a different background, the further you are away from the typical “blue chip” backgrounds the more legwork you’ll have to do in terms of demonstrating your passion for investing and just having the raw aptitude for working hard. That type of stuff will count a lot more than just an MBA from HBS, Wharton or wherever. So uh, I guess to summarize, the short answer is that you would be a long-shot at these firms either way, but the longer answer is that anything is possible if you put your mind to it…or something like that. Note: My comments above are based on publicly available employment reports and anecdotes from classmates/peers
iteracom Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > numi Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > > > > The fact remains that everyone at the top of > the > > pecking order in terms of gaining traction on > the > > buy-side had relevant pre-MBA backgrounds. > > > > you have to figure that it’s the > > people with relevant pre-MBA backgrounds that > get > > the top jobs. For everyone else in business > > school, remember you’ll be competing primarily > > with your classmates that *do* have experience > on > > the buy-side, and there are a sh!t ton of them > at > > any of the schools I mentioned. > > > > Great write-up from Numi. > > For people trying to break into finance, or are > stuck in a BO role, getting a top MBA will give > you a better chance of making it. Is it possible for someone in BO to get into a top MBA program?
^ Yes… absolutely… for whom else MBA is for! Except top 5, I don’t think there are many people who leave FO to join a non top 5 MBA program. And 5-10 isn’t bad at all though :)!
I’m also a current student at one of the aforementioned schools, and am very involved with investment management recruiting, e.g. did a buyside internship, and have a buyside job lined up. I wouldn’t disagree with numi’s analysis and school rank order (except those comp numbers seem to be “all-in” numbers, and not just base salary). Comp is going to be highly variable after the first couple of years depending on performance, so it’s not really possible to generalize about comp trajectory. I would say that people often underestimate how difficult it is to get a buyside job from business school…demand far outstrips supply, whether it’s private equity, hedge funds, or even large investment managers, there just aren’t a lot of jobs to go around. I would say if you have good industry experience and can get into a buyside job pre-MBA, then work that angle first. If you are a career changer, it’s a long-shot, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Honestly, I think it makes sense for career changers (BO?) to go to sell-side first (either research or investment banking). At a “top 10” school, sell-side is very obtainable for career changers who are motivated enough and have a semblance of a personality. With all that said, and although I have a buyside background, I wouldn’t have had many opportunities to even interview at these shops without the MBA, so it made sense for me to go to school. However, I know some people are disappointed with recruiting (especially right now) so you have to ask yourself if you’re willing to take that risk. If you view the b-school as a life experience then you will truly enjoy it, but if it’s little more than a financial transaction to you, I would say think hard before signing up for 100k tuition + opp cost.
Thanks for the reply VOBA. Do you mind if I email you to get some more insight on bschool life, recruiting and comp?
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > When I think of top investment > managers, I think of Fidelity, Capital Group, > Wellington, etc. where starting base is in the > neighborhood of $200-250K. Starting BASE of 200-250k? With 100% bonus targets 500k right out of business school? I’m guessing you meant starting total comp of 200-250k.
IARdude Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks for the reply VOBA. Do you mind if I email > you to get some more insight on bschool life, > recruiting and comp? post your email and I’ll respond…can’t guarantee promptness.
Stern and CBS would be on top of my mind given their location.
Yeah, that salary seems a bit high. My understanding is that the top total starting compensation of graduates from those schools tend to be in the $300k range (though the average compensation is much lower). Anyway, this is from some career resource I saw a while ago. I don’t know if it’s changed since then. Anyway, I find this conversation interesting. I always envisioned business school as something that you would do to broaden your exposure to different fields, rather than to diligently pursue one kind of occupation. I suppose it depends on the person.
This is probably just a typo on numi’s part. I’ve never seen a base of $200-250, and realistically there is no reason to pay that much in such a performance driven industry. I’m in the process of trying to find senior candidates for my firm to hire, and even for people with advanced degrees and a lot of experience, the base typically does not go above $150 from what I have seen. These people might make significantly in excess of $200-250, but that will be determined by performance related bonuses.
Top PE shops base can be in the 250k range + bonus
Yeah, I was talking about research / IM, which seemed to be the topic (given the title).
VOBA Wrote: > post your email and I’ll respond…can’t guarantee > promptness. Thanks man: HiWelcomeToEarf@gmail.com
VOBA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > IARdude Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Thanks for the reply VOBA. Do you mind if I > email > > you to get some more insight on bschool life, > > recruiting and comp? > > post your email and I’ll respond…can’t guarantee > promptness. VOBA, can i e-mail you as well about questions regarding b-schools, IM recruiting, etc.? Thanks. ksc1940@gmail.com