Acquisition Analyst

The work splits roughly between financial modeling and the slower, judgment-heavy task of synthesizing what that model actually tells you. You'll build DCF models, run sensitivity analyses, comp tables, and produce the memos that help leadership decide whether to pursue a deal — usually on a compressed timeline as a process heats up.

Due diligence is where the work gets interesting and exhausting simultaneously. You're poring through data rooms, coordinating with legal and tax specialists, checking whether the story the seller is telling matches what the numbers say. The more time you spend in data rooms, the better your instincts get at spotting the gaps that aren't immediately visible.

What people often underestimate is how much of the work happens in a room being challenged by people who've been in the industry longer than you. Your models will be stress-tested by people who have strong priors about the outcome. People who can defend their assumptions clearly — without becoming rigid about them — tend to grow quickly here. If you're energized by uncertainty and the pressure of consequential decisions, this work can feel more alive than anything else in finance.