Ignore title. AN2 at a BB in an absolute sweatshop of an industrials group. Everyday on the subway I dream of leaving all of this behind and going to work at some random industrial company in Iowa or something. Anyone else feel like this?
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I (sort of) did this by moving from NYC to Texas a decade ago. No complaints.
If I can ask, what was the process like for you? Did you move into corpdev or Houston finance? A little lost on how to find opportunities, especially since I’m originally from the east coast and don’t have any connections with other places. Thanks!
I lateraled in my bank from ny to Texas a long time ago when shale was humming. Low risk way to try a new city. Never did corp dev, at a family office now
I did something kind of similar. Worked in New York City and Los Angeles before moving to Texas for corporate development and my MBA, but now I remote online actually living in developing economies. You can DM me if you’d like to talk about it. Happy to help if I can.
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Up to you, but will offer a devil’s advocate position just based on my fellow banking colleague/friends who did a similar move. The ones who genuinely are happy and have zero regret with their transition to corp dev are the ones who were borderline abused during their analyst years (had nightmare experiences with health problems, fainting from dehydration and exhaustion during meetings and staffers not letting them go to urgent care, etc.). Makes sense since they probably value autonomy so much more than the average person and being able to have and keep a healthy routine.
But the ones who just were generally burnt out, they regret their choice. The idea of making half of what you made in banking doesn’t hit until you actually experience it—And it’s a really unsettling feeling since we are used to progression rather than regression. They are stuck at associated/manager level and have little chance of getting leadership since the turnover is very low at most gigs and when they do change, you are competing with external consultants or, for portcos, the sponsor itself.
Not to say it wouldnt be the right decision, but I see corp dev getting a lot of traction as a hidden gem exit, and give the false idea that you can easily make back the pay and career trajectory hit, because it takes a while to build back your credibility in my honest opinion.
Is that just a fact of life that we have to deal with - that we can’t have it all?
I assume anyone who can land and survive IB is extremely driven and hard working. If you put them in a chill job they will just invest that energy elsewhere into potentially more fulfilling outlets outside work (this is my theory) - the pay discount and slower progression reflects the fact you have more free time and flexibility
Or do you find that the frustration persists regardless and for type A people corp dev will be too slow?
For context, still on the IB train but flirt with the idea of doing a chill job… but I hesitate because of the pay cut and because it’s seems neither here nor there - I have a bunch of free time but still not doing what I love job wise
I’d preface by saying there’s a lot of variability when it comes to corp dev roles, so it really does depend on the individual offer. Some companies may be highly acquisitive and more early stage and could offer higher comp/equity packages and a solid pathway to higher leadership. Others may be dead ends where you’re stuck at senior associate for many years. So while it depends where you go, the simplified yes/no cost-benefit analysis comes down to do whether you put lifestyle above comp and career trajectory combined—If that’s a yes, then it may be the right decision to transition.
If you just don’t want to work 80-90 hour weeks but don’t want to sacrifice your earnings potential or want to make it to C-suite or an investment team, then that’s the tricky situation that many bankers fall into where you have to get lucky to satisfy both.
And bankers hear stories about unicorn scenarios where someone left ib after two years and got an amazing comp package from a portco and was able to be promoted within 4 years to head of corp dev and then transitioned to another Portco as CFO after he was nicely bought out when the sponsor exited. This doesn’t happen to your typical ib —> corp dev lateral.
This is a good question, but it REALLY depends on which LCOL city. There is such a wide range of cities in that definition. Are we talking Houston, Dallas, and Charlotte or like Wyoming and literally the middle of nowhere?
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