What are some of the cushier roles in Corporate ($125-150K/year and ~45 hours/week average)?
what types of roles are good/what should you shoot for if you are being honest with yourself and really only care for a middle-class lifestyle and value time >> money?
If you want to make a career in corporate, I think the sweet spot to hit is the Director level, which is usually a mid-manager level. Basically the structure is Analyst > Manager > Director > VP > SVP > Exec, with varying levels between like Sr. Analyst, Sr. Manager, etc. to add gradation and promotion levels.
At the Director level, it is more likely to have the salary range you're looking for and swing a 45ish hour week, no problem.
It's going to vary a lot. From what I've seen, let's say you started at a corporate rotational program for 2-3 years. Then you fall permanently in a manager position for a good year or two, and if lucky can make it to director after a few years. Most directors are going to be at least 30 years old. On the other extreme, I know people who are analysts well into their 40s.
When I was younger my parents sold our house to a middle aged gentleman. We found out he made almost $250k. Doing what? Drawbridge operator. As in, pushing a button to open/close the bridge when sailboats passed by. T He said he was bored out of his mind, since the river didn't have many boats.
Talk about a high reward / effort ratio. My god.
Commercial banking fellas. I work for a large regional MM commercial bank and make $70k 2 years out of college in a low COL city. I also get 20 paid days off and 10 paid holidays that I will fully use. 40 hour work weeks no questions asked. Eventually I'll become an RM (lender) and can easily make $150k within the next 10 years. If you're a really good lender $200k+ isn't too hard. These RMs probably work closer to 50 hours if I had to guess since they're bringing in more business but a lot of it is driving to clients and bullshitting with em. Sales baby
I don't mean to be a dick, but if you're working in CB why are you a Certified User as a first year analyst in M&A?
Homie just got busted
It is not a binary decision between 80 hours a week in IB and 40 hours in some back-office role. Something in the between would be e.g. Corp Dev / Corp Strategy with 50-60 hours, interesting work, and a salary in between IB and BO.