Edit: Thank you all so much for your advice! I've decided to go with GS, it seemed like the obvious choice after reading your comments and talking to people at both companies. Please feel free to DM me with any questions if you find yourself in the same position, happy to give back to the community! Iām a rising junior at a top school and I recently got a 2023 GS TMT (investment banking) internship offer. I interned at Meta last summer and was planning on going back, but Iām not sure what to do anymore. If I donāt take GS now, then I probably wonāt ever have a realistic chance at getting full-time, especially not in the TMT group. However, Meta is also a good option that is probably better for my mental health in the long-run. I talked to a bunch of my senior friends and alumni in both industries and gathered some opinions but I wanted to get Blind input as well. General thoughts: Meta Pros - Way better WLB - Higher starting TC out of college - More diverse types of thinkers: PMs/SWEs/designers - Better employer benefits overall - Hybrid work structure - Office is nicer Meta Cons - On west coast (not a big problem, but I prefer to be on the east coast) - Weaker TC growth trajectory + comp ceiling - Stock volatility (can be both good/bad I guess) Goldman Pros - Extremely strong compensation growth, no comp ceiling - Basically guaranteed MF PE (megafund private equity) offer due to GS TMT + school name - NYC based - I would enjoy buy-side investing in the future (GS TMT feeds very well into growth/private equity) Goldman Cons - Terrible WLB and hours - Lower starting salary - Iām kind of introverted so I might not like the work environment? Personally, I liked the work at Meta, but I also really liked the people that I networked with at GS and the type of work that you get to do in IB/PE. So a lot of the advice I received centered on whether I care more about money or work-life balance. Iāve worked 70-80 hour weeks before, so I can see myself continuing that for another couple years before exiting to PE, but who knows. The thing Iām not sure about is TC because I grew up pretty poor. It seems like it is, but I donāt know if a 500-600k TC is so significantly different from a 5 million dollar TC and I didnāt want to ask the alumni this. Can anyone older weigh in on whether that kind of TC bump really makes a material difference in your day to day and if itās worth the worse WLB and terrible hours? What about having kids? I know itās far off, but no one I talked to had started a family except for one, so any advice there from older Blind users? Would also appreciate any general tips.
Looks like your heart is at GS, but looking for some validation from Blind here. Do what you heart says, go to GS!
I wouldnāt say that mega fund PE is guaranteed even with GS plus school. Most of these funds only take 20 analysts per year and things can go wrong. A lot of people in analyst classes burn out and leave finance altogether. If youāre willing to put up with the amount of work for GS, I would go for it but it will be a hard road.
Not really. If he's GS TMT, it's very unlikely that he won't land MFPE unless he goes out of his way to botch the process. I wasn't GS TMT, but I was at a solid group at a BB and still had plenty of MF options when I exited.
My recommendation is take the GS SA offer and see how you like it. Like you said, you'll never really know if you can handle the hours until you actually experience them. If you come out of the summer confident in your ability to weather the storm, go back to GS full-time and start your career there. If it turns out that you hate the work culture after the summer, re-recruit for software engineering positions. You already have an internship at a big tech company on your resume, I'm sure you'll do fine if you recruited for new grad positions.
Are you at Apollo right now? Is it worth the switch and do you feel like you still have time to keep up your relationships? And howās the comp/culture?
I think a lot of people get lost in the weeds of exits, but you should really think about your career goals. Transitioning into PE is much more than just making an "exit," you need to consider the work itself. That aside, the hours are not much better than IB, but deals tend to be more dispersed throughout the year, so you'll still have 80-hour weeks, but 50-hour weeks will be more common. Culture at Apollo is pretty cutthroat, but it comes with the fact that Apollo ASO1's are shown clear paths to VP+ from the moment they step foot in the firm. Comp is good, all-in for first-years around 450, second-years around 550, third-years around 650/700, though we got an extra ~100k bonus last year for retention. I highly recommend speaking with your staffers if you take the GS offer, they'll have more insights to share and can shed light on the transition especially given that some will have wrapped up on-cycle recruiting.
āIāve worked 70-80 hour weeks before, so I can see myself continuing that for another couple years before exiting to PEā - FYI, everyone I know in PE is still working IB hours
Hours decrease with seniority. Youāre never going to work 20 hour weeks in PE, but you wonāt have to face IB first-year analyst hours forever.
Goldman TMT unless you really love coding
GS tmt has so many exits. I would say try it out and see how you like it. For sure better than meta for exit opps imo tho. Iāve had a peer go to qatalyst after 2 yrs at gs tmt and then after a few more years, heās partner at a ~100b fund.
Whatās your peerās background ?
Goldman... find out first if you like IB or not. I did IB for a summer and realized it wasn't for me (even despite a FT offer and lots of money lol)
IB is a good option if you're really set on going into PE and don't mind the grind; however, the horror stories regarding WLB are truly no joke and I've seen friends give up so much in their personal lives. But if it is something you're interested in exploring, like another commenter said, I would take the GS offer since it's much harder to switch from SWE to IB than from IB to SWE because banks typically only recruit for IB through new grad/MBA pipelines
I'm acquainted with and friends with a couple of people in top PE firms, and they genuinely hate their career and day dream about escaping to Bali and becoming a surfing instructor. Personally, I don't think it's worth it, but I have a low tolerance for long hours.
Goldman obviously... this should be a no brainer. And if you take Meta there's a non-negligible chance you won't get a return offer next year given the recent news so... take GS.
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Go to GS unless you have a strong passion for software. These roles are way more exclusive and prestigious than a Meta SWE.