Associate’s Exit Opportunities

Hello fellow monkeys,

TLDR: How are exit opportunities like at the associate level / any personal stories on exiting at this level? For someone who doesn’t know if they want to do the traditional 2 and out.

Currently ~9 months in on the desk and thought I’d seek some guidance from WSO.

I’m unsure if I want to do PE or what I’ll eventually want to do exit wise. I don’t hate my current firm and so far WLB has been manageable (70-80 hours normally). Im also getting a ton of opportunities, responsibilities, experience and genuinely enjoy the sector I work in. A lot of my class is fixated on the typical 2 years and out but I’m unsure if that’s what I want to do. For this reason I skipped on cycle this year.

My long term gf (plan on proposing soonish) is starting vet school in a few weeks and honestly our situation currently is pretty ideal for the next 3-4 years. She is super close and very understanding of my schedule. I can see myself sticking around at my current bank until she graduates then navigating where I want to live, career shift, etc.

However, I know I don’t want to be a career banker because I want to have more time to enjoy with my partner after she graduates, travel more and eventually have a family and be around for my kids lives. Additionally would like to pick up on some hobbies I have limited time for currently.

My question is, are there still plenty of exit opportunities at the JR associate level (As1-As2)? I’ve heard that exits dry up the longer you stay in IB but would love more color on this. Preferably, would love to hear any personal stories of folks exiting at the associate level who didn’t know what they wanted to do.

Thank you for your time,
Cheers