Burned out M&A banker moving to Corporate (FP&A, strategic finance, corp dev type role)

I'm an analyst who lateraled to banking from an accounting type role and I've adapted pretty well to the role. Technical work isn't hard and I've gotten into the groove after these past 1.5 years. Hours aren't even the worst, part - it is the unpredictability and the way we are treated by the seniors. It's just a nonstop grindfest and I have no time at all for...well anything. 

My first few years as analyst I haven't seen the big financial rewards yet, but I know the progression will speed up as I become an Associate, but I realize that this type of role really pigeonholes you into either more IB or PE, which are both consistent grindfests. No other role with reasonable hours will pay you this highly and at the same time, your skillset gets pretty niche (a corporate role, unless its specifically corpdev, will be more operationally focused and such)

I have an opportunity for corp finance / corp dev / strategic finance, but basically high level FP&A type shit but it's remote and works like 35-40 hours

Comparison: IB is about 200k TC (currently), while new role is 160k TC. Where things get dicey is in a year or two, where IB becomes about ~300k TC and the new role is going to stay around ~170k TC

My concern isn't that I'm missing out the financial rewards but it is that I'm getting stuck on the high-paying treadmill where I must keep working in IB because they pay so well and no other role will take me because I become too expensive and not experienced enough operationally. I know it's a deeply personal decision, but anyone have experiences that may help my decision?

1 Comments
 

Non et aliquid quia incidunt. Aut laudantium aliquid nisi. Sequi sapiente ut fugit optio dignissimos inventore eaque. Vero quis rerum quo.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”