I’ve been working M&A for a couple years, I left for a corporate finance role in the last year. It had a higher base pay and tons of benefits (obviously at the sacrifice of big bonuses). To be blunt- I want a more interesting path. I have enjoyed a year of getting sleep, but did I shoot myself in the foot from entering PE or HFs after doing corporate finance post M&A? I’m curious if anyone else has done a gap and still made PE/HFs?
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To be honest, and @Richard.3, once you step foot outside of the "high finance" world, your IB experience (plus an Ivy degree) is looked at very favorably. Your skills are transferable, you just have to sell them.
The questions are really going to go back to what interests you. Truly. You might have to investigate, speak to people, meditate and let your intuition guide you. Many people are disillusioned with these jobs. There are honestly as many places you can take your experience as there are career options. I can't answer that for you, but really think about what you're great at and what you love to do. What resonates with you - number crunching? Analysis? The legal angle? The marketing angle? What industry is really interesting to you - what non-fiction books do you want to read?
If you don't yet have a family and those kinds of responsibilities which limit your flexibility, now is the time to take some risks. Don't feel that you are disappointing anyone (including yourself, parents, friends, classmates) if you choose something really different, or lower paying. There is so much pressure to "achieve" but that mainly seems to mean title and $$.