1) Private Equity is different from hedge funds... PE is investing rich people and institutional money in private companies, Hedge funds invest mostly in public

1) Private Equity is different from hedge funds... PE is investing rich people and institutional money in private companies, Hedge funds invest mostly in public stocks, though recently there has been a lot of alternative investments in this sector too... They "hedge" the market by having a mix of shorts and longs. PE and HF are very different, though related. 2) It's pretty hard... typically you go to banking for 2 years and then get to Private Equity via a headhunter (there are plenty that specialize in this exact thing)