Financial Career Advice
Hello All,
I apologize for how long this post is, I am trying to describe the full situation to get counsel.
Background: I am a 25 year old working in finance in the Midwest. The city I am working in I love but is not exactly great for finance (and leaving for other jobs would be complicated given my GF just moved back here for me and both of our families are here). With that out of the way, I am currently an Investment Banking Analyst at a MM Bank. My group is not traditional IB, but rather deals with a niche set of structured financial products. My analyst program is 3-years and I just began my final year (started summer of 2018). The last year I made 150k between salary and bonus. I project the next 12 months I will make 170-180 between salary and bonus (95 base and 75-85 bonus). I enjoy my job a decent amount and think it has a great culture, but I am fearful the skillset I am developing is too narrow and it may not allow as much flexibility down the line if I want to make a move due to the nicheness.
Dilemma: I am currently exploring options because a) there is no guarantee based on staffing needs I will be asked to return as an associate at my current role and b) because my group is so niche I am afraid of getting locked into doing one thing forever and want to expand my experience to the equity side of things (either more traditional IB or PE). I currently am in conversations with a MM PE firm I have interest in and seems interested in me. Because of their current openings they would only be able to bring me in as an Analyst (I was hoping to move somewhere as an Associate). I was informed their pay would be below my current range with their pay structure for Analyst 2 being 120 + 20 for an all in of 140k (this is a higher base than I make but pretty paltry bonus). This is a significant bit below my projected next 12 month amount but it is for a role I find more interesting and I think will expand my skillset more. To make matters worse on the money front, my 401k match does not vest until early summer 2021 so if I left now I would look to lose ~15k. So basically my question is: is it worth leaving money on the table to make a move?
Additional Considerations: I am thinking maybe I stay and finish my final year where I am where I will make 30-40k more and get my 401k vesting and start applying again close to then (with the hope that maybe the place I am looking at now will have some Associate openings). The issue with this is the finance scene where I am is not fantastic and I am nervous that by that point nothing better will be available and I will be stuck. There is no guarantee the 2-3 other good places in my area will be hiring for suitable roles and there is no guarantee I even get the Associate offer where I am (though I would say I have a decent chance). It is worth noting the other place I am considering would likely make me an Associate after 1 year, so I could very well get promoted to Associate pretty close to when I would at my current job.
Any thoughts or personal experience that would help me think through my situation? Let me know if any additional details would make it easier to provide thoughts.
