You’ve pulled the late nights, powered through endless earnings seasons, and fielded the barrage of client calls. But now the question hits: what’s next? The buy-side, IR, corporate finance—the options seem endless, and the more doors you see, the more paralyzed you feel.
That’s where this guide comes in. I’ll lay out the exit paths and give you a candid take before you make a big decision about life after sell-side research.
There’s No One “Right” Answer
If you’re exploring exits from sell-side research, you are unhappy about something—comp, title, hours, stress, or maybe all of the above. But the truth is, there’s no perfect landing spot. Every choice has trade-offs.
The dream job with sky-high comp, easy hours, and zero stress? Doesn’t exist. Even long-only roles—often romanticized as “chill”—are stressful. With shrinking AUM, underperforming portfolios getting shut down and AI replacing junior associates, nothing is guaranteed anymore.
Think of your options as a spectrum:
Corporate roles → stability, structure, reasonable hours…but longer time to upside
Buy-side seats → autonomy, higher upside…but brutal accountability and stress.
Entrepreneurship → maximum freedom and maximum risk.
Timing your exit matters too. You can land a corporate job more quickly. A buy-side role? That’s a whole different story—long, grueling, and not just because of the difficulty. It’s also about style fit, airport test, and the simple fact that there are so few openings. And while you may be itching to “catch the next train,” the reality is the right train doesn’t always show up when you want it to.
One tip: stick close to your coverage. Sell-side TMT to buy-side TMT? Natural. Sell-side healthcare to healthcare corporate? Makes sense. Switching industries entirely isn’t impossible, but it’s much harder. Might need to switch functions first (ER → IR), then industries, in two steps.
Networking, Seniority, and the Exit Curve
The public investing industry, sell-side research included, is not well understood. Don’t expect applying alone to work, especially if you are more senior.
You need to network. For corporate roles, start with the obvious: every former sell-side and buy-side research person you can find. Then move outward to anyone in high finance, because at least they understand what you do. Those without Wall Street work experience just know you work long hours and make good money, but they don’t view you as more valuable than someone who climbed the ladder internally from a financial analyst. So its harder to relate to them, but obviously reach out to non-Wall Streeters inside your personal network.
Here is how you should go-to-market based on your experience:
Junior (jr. analyst / associate): You’re cheaper and more flexible. Applying to jobs can work, though networking never hurts.
Mid-level (post-MBA associate / VP): This is the toughest spot. You’re too expensive for “cheap hire” roles, not yet credible for senior ones. Networking and storytelling matter a lot.
Senior (lead analyst / Director and MD): Now your network carries you. Relationships with C-suites, IR, and the buy-side are your golden ticket.
The opportunity set also depends on seniority. Lead analysts can pivot into coveted roles like CEO or CFO tracks, head of IR at pre-IPO companies, venture capital, or head of strategy. For most of you reading this who are more junior, you are unlikely to get into those seats (nor do you have the skills to do the job.)
The mid-level is rough—expensive, pigeonholed, and competing with internal lifers. You cost more than internal promotes, and peers don’t love the idea of you “skipping the line.” Bottom line: know your story cold. Why leave research? Why now? Why this role?
So with the mindset out of the way, here are your exit options.
Staying on the sell-side
If you actually like the client work—marketing, client conferences, calls, TV appearance, relationship-building—then staying on the sell-side might not be a bad idea. But recognize: the higher you rise, the less it’s about stock-picking and the more it’s about sales. Hosting conferences, pitching the same views 50 times a day, marketing across geographies.
You usually know whether you have a long-term shot as a senior sell-side analyst. Does your boss think you’re building your own brand with clients and salespeople? If so, even if your current employer cannot carve out some coverage for you, you can often move to a lesser firm, grab a lead role, and then jump back to a better firm later.
One exception on the sell-side is research boutiques. There is a whole list of firms that let you focus more on stock picking, thematic views and truly add value to buy-side’s alpha generation, but the number of available seats is limited and pressure is real because at your variable compensation could be tied to how much revenue you can generate from client subscription of your team’s research. No one wants to read your research, you will starve.
If you’re just a “great doer” sell-side associate, your earnings potential is capped regardless of what career path you take: all careers eventually shift away from doing. CEOs and PMs don’t make slides, they make decisions. Clients pay for output and judgment, not for how many hours you grind.
Going buy-side
So what about the buy-side? The upside is real. Same idea: if you are a doer, or worse, a relationship guy, you won’t get far. But if you’ve actually shown great judgment—called the right stocks, spotted the right secular shifts—that’s the currency that drives success and real wealth on the buy-side. That’s what funds pay for in a talent.
I told a client this recently: If you got the skills, staying on the sell-side is a waste of earning potential. I genuinely believe you should go where you can add and capture the most value.
Timing matters, too. If you want the buy-side, don’t wait until you’re a VP on the sell-side. Past that point, the opportunity set shrinks fast. At the associate level, you’ve already had two years to really learn a sector—that’s enough. Beyond that, you’re not becoming a better investor; you’re just becoming more expensive to the buy-side.
Going Corporate
Inside a company, there’s a huge grab bag of opportunities for equity research folks.
Most sell-side research associates don’t grow up dreaming of Investor Relations. I didn’t either. But the reality? IR was the only path where my resume consistently got interviews just by applying. And it’s not the dead-end job people assume. Storytelling is a real business skill—and not every IR role is about hyping sketchy SPACs.
IR gives you a ton of exposure. You’re working across your company’s finance, strategy, operations, and product teams to shape a story for investors and sell-side analysts (you think you are done with your former boss?).
Along the way, you get to scout out which internal groups you like, which leaders you’d want to work for, and where the culture feels right. You’re basically auditioning for future internal roles while doing your day job.
Another perk: competition is lighter. Companies actively value sell-side research experience for IR specifically. That edge makes it easier to land roles over investment bankers, consultants, or corporate lifers.
If you’ve covered a sector for years and have interfaced with many IR officers—leverage those connections. Even if you don’t have connections, name-dropping your analyst boss can get the Head of IRs of companies in your covered sector to respond to your “learning about a career in IR” informational interview requests - I attest my success on getting responses when I was searching.
If you do land IR, try to look for hybrid setups—IR paired with Treasury, Corp Dev, or FP&A. That way you broaden your skill set and avoid being siloed.
A direct jump into FP&A can be trickier - mostly due to perception, not ability. Every internal finance function has its quirks:
FP&A → usually Big 4 or career analysts, steady (and boring to many I talked to) but not glamorous until the top.
Corp Dev → banker-heavy, looking at deals, higher intensity if you land at a place filled with hardo ex-bankers who want to maintain the toxic culture.
Strategy → consulting DNA, frameworks, slide decks galore.
Ops → not the obvious choice, but very possible if you network right and pitch your skills to fit.
Point is, corporate is a real and viable landing spot. And it’s easier to get in than the buy-side.
MBA and Non-Traditional Paths
I could write a whole book on MBAs under my brand, but let’s keep this short.
I’d say about 70% of my MBA classmates at NYU probably shouldn’t have been there. Why? Because they had no idea why they wanted an MBA in the first place. And if you don’t know why you’re there, you won’t know how to use the program to reach your post-MBA goals.
The other 30%? They had clarity. They knew exactly what they wanted, focused relentlessly on that one goal, tapped into every resource the program offered—and achieved it.
I still remember orientation. A classmate asked me, “What are you recruiting for?” I’d say, “equity research.” Then I’d flip the question back, and they’d shrug: “Uh, maybe banking or consulting.” Translation: I have no idea—those are just the default options. That person ended up getting into neither. They didn’t walk in with a plan—most likely, they applied to business school just because they hated their last job. Who didn’t hate their last job?!
So here’s my first piece of advice: be brutally clear about what you want to do after the MBA, and why the MBA is the bridge to get you there. Some schools force that self-reflection through the admissions essays. Others don’t. Either way, you owe it to yourself, because you only get one MBA shot—and the price tag (both money and opportunity cost) is massive.
Second of all, unlike undergrad, an MBA isn’t “memoryless.” Your post-MBA job options depend heavily on what you did pre-MBA. Hard truth: the MBA is often less useful than people imagine. For example, you can’t just waltz into a traditional PE associate role without pre-MBA investment banking experience.
And finally—please stop fantasizing until you actually have an admission letter. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “Should I go direct to the buy-side or get an MBA at Harvard, Stanford, or Wharton?” as if the acceptance is already in hand. Step one is: get in. Once you’re admitted, then we can talk about how you can make the most out of a H/S/W MBA. Until then, it’s all just a giant what-if.
Non-traditional paths
High finance loves its rigid career tracks. But careers today are anything but linear. More and more people are carving out non-traditional routes (including yours truly) that still make great use of the skills you’ve built. The catch? None of these opportunities show up on job boards—you’ll need to create them through networking.
Your equity research brand still leans heavily toward finance, with strategy being the second-biggest door you can walk through. Industry expertise can also land you at boutique consulting firms that value depth over breadth.
And of course, there’s always the option to start your own thing. I never thought I’d become an entrepreneur. I had no idea what I was doing (I still barely do), but I just started, kept tweaking, and somehow got it to work. Sometimes you don’t realize what you’re capable of until you’re backed into a corner.
My advice: be open to opportunities that don’t look rigid or traditional. Eric Schmidt got rich because he said yes to Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Joseph Tsai said yes to Jack Ma—accepting a salary of $600 a year instead of $700,000 a year in private equity—and became a billionaire.
The key is to go where the industry itself is growing—or where you get the chance to work with incredible people. Go where you can add real value, and ideally, where the work feels almost effortless. That’s the sweet spot: the overlap of passion and natural talent. When you find that intersection, success compounds—both intellectually and financially.
Most people never get into that intersection. Why? Because they don’t work hard enough to create the conditions for luck. And when luck does show up, they didn’t say yes.
Parting words
I hope this helps those of you in sell-side research who are standing at this crossroads. Take your time, do the self-reflection, and don’t just chase whatever path your colleagues take.
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