Frustrated in my career and don't know what to do. Advice appreciated.

Monkeys,

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible: I've been an analyst at a PE fund-of-funds for the last ~1.5 years. I'm finally at the point where I'm burned out - the work is extremely dull/monotonous, the pay is awful, the work/life isn't much better than banking (seriously), and the exit opps are not good.

I really, really want to make it to a decent lower-MM PE fund but it just doesn't seem like the move is possible. Headhunters haven't been helpful, applying to the one-off postings have been unsuccessful, and networking always seems to go well but ultimately ends with the advice that I should go into banking and try again.

I have two interviews lined up with small, regional boutique banks but the idea of going there and starting over as an analyst again is pretty unsettling, but I feel like it's really the only option.

Curious if anyone has been in a similar position and made it to where they wanted to go? Steps you took?

Any kind of guidance is appreciated here.

 

1.5 years is not long enough to be "burned out" doing almost anything, and the prospect of starting over as an analyst shouldn't be that daunting because you have only been at your current position for 1.5 years. If you don't like your FoF your only 2 options would be to try to somehow get an analyst gig or apply for business school

 
Best Response

Thanks for the replies.

Quaneaser: no, I was not in banking before. I tried with a few of the bigger MM shops this year (coming in as a first year despite experience) but they weren't really open to that idea. Only luck I've had so far are these two interviews coming up. They're reputable in the sense that they have pretty active deal flow and are around the ~20 employee range, but they are pretty small deals, like 50-150mm EV.

iggs99988: you're right, "burned out" was probably a poor choice of wording. Quarter-life crisis might be better haha - I'm just seeing this position as a dead-end with no decent way out or clear-cut path to where I want to get. If I can land one of these banking gigs I think it'd be a good start, but then not sure where that would lead to. Maybe that will get me to a lower MM pe gig?

 

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