Too old?

I assumed it’s about S&T, as CFA was mentioned. I don’t see any relevance of CFA in M&A or corporate finance. ECM and DCM are still with us. As well as ER.
Even if it’s not S&T, in any case. What’s the way from Associate to VP? 3-5 years average, otherwise better out. What’s the way from 39 to 60? More than 3 years.
It can be done.
It is more conventional to hire Associates from grad schools who are around 30, rather than 40. Say 35 is absolutely fine, I knew a guy who worked in KPMG, and went to Morgan Stanley after his MBA when he was 35 or 36, and did internship in GS. There is 40 … and 40, it can be big difference, depending on the person.
 
Black Swan Wrote:
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>
> You also have to look at the endgame, those
> companies spend a lot of time, $$ and energy
> training employees, thus they want to target
> employees with the longest perceived career.
The funny thing about this mindset (and it is prevelant) is that so many people will change employers multiple times in the first 10 to 15 years anyway.
If a person who has had strong career success in a somewhat relevant (and demanding)field, along with a history of not jumping around between employers came along, I think they would be worth a look.
Everybody is different and there are certain 39 year-olds that will run circles around certain 25 year-olds and vice-versa.
 
For entry level work, I think it’s more that younger people are more willing to put up with b!tchwork, are more open to training, and will work for less money. Plus, if all your new hires are in their 20s, that one 40-year-old guy is going to be more awkward to work with. There are definitely some exceptions, but most employers don’t want to take that chance.
 
Come on, you’re too old for horribly long hours. However, you still have a life line, Consulting -> PE. Just a rational thought, you can’t be as productive and and as hungry as people in their 20s.
Also, you’ll probably be having wife and kids, are you sure you want to do entry level IB at this time of your life?
 
Along these lines, as a manager you’d prefer to have your underlings be younger than you. Makes for a more natural dynamic.
Once you hit 30, 35, etc you’re going to run into more and more hiring managers that are younger than you. This will not help your chances, generally speaking.
 
The simple truth - at age 40, you won’t physically last long enough in IB to make a career out of it.
If you have a family/kids, forget about it unless you can come in at a higher level, which does not seem to be the case for you.
Do something else that is worth your time…
 
Anyone over 40 here who would talk about “physical weakness”? I really doubt it, if you ask me. I am not 40 yet. Neither am I in my early 20s, and these youngsters don’t look aggressive to me. May be because it’s Spain, but they are milk suckers, really. No any idea how to do things.
and what do you call a career? There are a lot of 40year old associates in my firm, even analysts. They might be frustrated, but it’s life. If someone is capable to make a 3 year career from associate to VP in late 20s, the same person could do that in late 30s just as well, or even better and faster. The only difference is the experience in other industries, which is a big plus.
And say, I am staying in my firm for 3 years, got somewhat experienced in the field, and my career prospects are obscure. They found a boss for me (my age) without experience in IB, but with some experience in management consulting, she negotiated ED for herself. No joke. Seems it’s better to have a career outside the industry, rather than stay here and get promoted once in a decade.
Besides, associate position is absolutely fine for a 40yo, not stella career if you stay 20 years with the same firm, but might be a start of a stella career if you have a good background and a firm character.
 
We still don’t know the OP’s background. But to be fair, let’s not forget that some people negotiate a better position than associate fresh out of MBA. VP is doable, although rare.
What is the percentage of MBA graduates who want to get into IB without previous experience and are over 35yo? And what is the percentage of those who actually get there in comparison with younger graduates? I guess the numbers are just too low to draw any conclusions.
 
^ You obviously don’t work anywhere close to IB…
Please don’t give this guy bad advises based on your conditional theories…
 
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