Corp Strat / Dev instead of PE?

Hey everyone - I’m currently a second year analyst at a BB (GS/MS/JPM) really struggling with next steps. 
 

Original plan was to recruit for PE job and leave after two years, but I am just quite burned out. Banking has been grueling and my desire to finish this next year (and potentially keep the same lifestyle for another two if I make the jump to PE) is very low. 
 

I have an upcoming interview with a Fortune 100 Corp Strat / Dev department and am very interested in the group, but was curious how this forum would think about making that change. 
 

Obviously would be a big lifestyle improvement (pretty consistently at 80-90+ a week right now), but I mostly just want to avoid jumping ship while things are hard only to have it derail the trajectory of my career a bit. Have aspirations of a M7 (ideally H/S/W) MBA, but don’t know if that would be possible from this group given that it’s in a slightly lower COL city and most of the group didn’t go to Bschool. 
 

Any advice on how to think about this decision, long-term impacts or the actual change between roles would be very welcome! 

2 Comments
 

Quaerat reprehenderit dignissimos aliquid iure. Itaque facere maxime totam voluptate officia nisi. Quae suscipit quo voluptas cupiditate. Explicabo autem animi et neque. Officiis nisi qui aliquam nulla asperiores rerum.

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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”