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Based on that, I asserted that it was more likely than not that bonuses and other compensation also did not vary by experience level. A reasonable scientist would agree, I think, that since this is the first hard evidence we have on the subject, that that should be the hypothesis. Whether and how salaries vary based on quality of employer is immaterial, because the variable we're studying here is amount of pre-MBA experience, not anything else.
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<p>And that is precisely where we disagree. Like I have said, compensation figures vary tremendously, from industry to industry and even within industry. </p>
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Given that I have hard data, albeit imperfect, I think the burden of proof to show that bonuses vary considerably by pre-MBA experience - enough to qualitatively change the decision on whether a young MBA admittee should attend or get more experience - is on you.
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<p>Actually, no, I think the burden of proof is still on you. After all, you are the one making the provocatively counterintuitive claim, not me. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. I, on the other hand, am arguing the null hypothesis, * which requires no proof at all*. </p>
<p>Think of it like a criminal case. I am the defense. That means that I don't actually have to prove anything at all. It is up to you to prove a strong case because the burden of proof is on you. </p>
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Now, if that were true, it would be a strong argument in your favor. But I do not believe it to be true, or at least not strongly true. Let us take a small group of the top PE firms - say, Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, KKR, GS Capital Partners, and Thomas Lee Group. I happen to know that they all recruit at HBS, Wharton, Stanford, and many also at Columbia and Sloan. Generally, from what I understand, all it takes to get an interview if you're an MBA at those schools is a relevant summer internship in PE
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<p>No, you're wrong on several counts. Some of the top PE firms will recruit on-campus, but many (probably most) do not. The vast majority of interviewing in VC/PE does not happen on an on-campus basis, but rather through social networking. And like I said, social networking success is a strong function of your prior experience. </p>
<p>Secondly, your statement that all you require is a 'relevant' summer internship is incomplete because you don't discuss what you mean by that. The most relevant such internship is obviously at that very same PE firm that you hope to get a full-time job at. But then that begs the question of how one even gets such a summer internship if you have no prior experience and no social network. </p>
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That was my impression from talking to a career services staffer at HBS and another at Columbia. If you know differently, let's hear it.
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<p>Uh, you should ask that staffer just how important social networking is to VC/PE recruiting. Anybody who knows anything will understand that it is paramount. </p>
<p>But don't take my word for it. Consider what these people had to say. Carefully consider what is stated in bold. </p>
<p>*...professionals pointed out that private equity recruiting is spotty, opportunistic and unstructured compared to investment banking recruiting. Typically PE firms don’t come on-Grounds to employ several students at a time. Therefore, the importance of networking is crucial for private equity hiring. Firms are not necessarily going to come to Darden to interview two to three students, but private equity firms expect students to come to them and network aggressively to learn and show keen interest in the industry. *</p>
<p>Everette</a> Fortner's Blog - Darden School of Business</p>
<p>It isn't rare for private equity houses to hire grads fresh out of business school, he said, but **9 times out of 10, the students who nab these jobs are the ones who had private equity experience under their belt before even starting their MBA program*.</p>
<p>In the clubby world of private equity, most people usually land their jobs through persistent networking.</p>
<p>"These are highly prized jobs and often the firms don't recruit in large numbers. **They're looking for people with very specific experience **and may hire just one person a year," said Regina Resnick, assistant dean and managing director for MBA career services at Columbia Business School. *</p>
<p>Why</a> MBAs are in hot pursuit of private equity jobs - Feb. 13, 2007</p>
<p><a href="1">quote</a> The salaries are the same across experience tiers because those with more experience are more likely to get the top jobs which thus pay lower salaries, averaging out with the non-finance/consulting people who, ALSO because of their greater experience, will get higher salaries than those with less experience - and the net result is that the average salary is the same.</p>
<p>(2) As the salary figures indicate (despite not being a perfect measure of compensation), there is in fact no difference in average compensation between low and high experience tiers for MBAs.</p>
<p>I'm sorry, there are too many moving parts and it comes out too exactly the same for me to believe (1). Occam's Razor is saying I'm right
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<p>I am simply asking you to believe that salaries are a poor way to measure MBA outcomes because, like you said, there are too many moving parts. I said it before, and I'll say it again. It's too difficult to compare different industries to each other. Finance is a notoriously "low-salary" industry.</p>