Finished my SA...have offer in hand...want to do something completely different

So, I just finished my SA at a relatively large PE shop but have come to realize I cannot stand financial modeling, working super long hours and in general dealing with finance tools. I want to do something that is satisfying and fulfilling while working reasonable hours ~50-55ish and earning decent money (think $60k+) with the potential for b-school.

Seems like if I'm not a software engineer i got little to no options. Thoughts?

Realize that this is the IB forum but I thought it was relevant considering it was SA and I didn't do banking for 2 years or anything (I'm a rising senior)

6 Comments
 

Business Development at F500s or start-ups. Although they tend to hire ex bankers/consultants anyway and the work can be remarkably similar to what you do in PE. There was a post on WSO a while ago about "Work Life Satisfaction" which I think you should give a read. It doesn't sound like you have much passion for this field and perhaps you should go do some soul searching. If you don't have passion for what you do, obviously you wouldn't be able to stand the job, and it is unlikely you'd enjoy the job much even if the hours were decreased.

 
Best Response

If you don't know what you want to do, I would suggest you think about it and come up with an answer. I would also suggest that you sign the offer, because if you can't get anything else, you avoid graduating into unemployment.

Options that come to mind given the criteria you have listed are pretty scarce. Start-Ups will require more hours and not as much pay (in the beginning). IBD is out. PE is out. F500 maybe be feasible but I am unsure if you' have a decent shot at the M7s. A career in Academia may be something that would fit your criteria, but I am unsure if you are willing to go down that route. No B-School if you do that anyway.

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

OP- Assuming that you have good grades (since you interned at a large PE shop), you work at a brand name f500 company in a good role (e.g. strategy/corp dev/fp&a/product mgmt/brand mgmt/etc), and good gmat, I'd say you have a good shot at M7. I know plenty of peple at M7 who never did banking or consulting.

 

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