Switch to PE in renewable energy?

[dsnawt]

Hi Jon,

Im a 24 year old male from India with a 720 in GMAT and a degree in computer engineering with an average GPA. I have 3 years of experience as a trader in the Commodities and Fixed Income markets. For the past 8 months, I have been leading my company's Trading systems' desk, focused on developing quant trading models. What I really want to do career-wise though, is get into the private equity in the renewable energy domain and about 8-10 years down the line, start a consulting firm for funds and companies looking to raise money alike. Here in India, the renewable energy sector. is still in a nascent stage of development and in a few years time, I reckon expertise on the domain will be highly sought. Will my lack of experience in private equity mean that my goal comes across as being unrealistic? Ive heard top schools will generally reject applicants wanting to get into the private equity space without prior experience. Do I stand a chance at getting into a top school with a really convincing case? Or am I better off sticking to a more realistic career goal? Booth, Tuck and Stern are among my top choices of schools. Any help would be great appreciated!

[Jon@Admissionado]

Well, career changes are fine. Especially if you have excellent reasons for doing so. And a career switch within finance is also much easier to swallow, as the skills and knowledge can be expected to be similar. Keep in mind though that you are gonna have to match up against candidates who DO have those years of PE experience, so you gotta ask yourself "Why would they take me?" Finally, I would ask you why the ultra tight specialization on renewable energy? Just because it will be big? This too would be a fine idea had you come from renewable energy, but why focus on it in your goals? Just because it's "Big"??? It's not really a good enough reason, cause being great at something even if its a failing industry is still better than being a beginner in an a great industry.

hope this helps,