[HELP REQUESTED]: Take A2A Promo or Go Corp Dev
Hello Fellow Monkeys,
I've currently in a dilemma on what my next career step should be and would love your thoughts / to hear anyone's person experience here. In short, I'm a top bucket analyst at a strong MM and will be receiving A2A next week. However, I also have a compelling Corp Dev offer at a strong private company ($5B+ market cap) within my industry / in a space I'm very interested in.
I am at the cross-roads trying to decide between the two and could use help identifying pros / cons of each (more-so for the Corp Dev Role). As every analyst is after 2+ years FT, I'm pretty tired and becoming pretty meh with the work (as it gets repetitive after 10+ closed deals). However, I don't want to handicap my career long-term just because I could use a "refresh" and have deal fatigue. Details below on each opportunity:
IB Associate Seat: ~$300k total cash comp, strong reputation within my team, overall good culture and great relationship with Senior Bankers & staffers. Do things / WLB actually get better as an Associate?
Corp Dev Seat: ~$200-220k cash comp (+ potential proceeds from future / near-term IPO), lean / very new Corp Dev Team (created ~2 years ago), broad mandate (i.e. not entirely focused on M&A but also strategy and other cross functional collaboration), good culture, likely ~50-60hrs a week
I'm leaning towards Corp Dev role with the mentality that comp isn't being haircutted too much (still can likely get to ~$300k cash comp in 5 years), it's worth the risk to see if I like it, have opportunity to learn real value creation skills, c-suite and board exposure, may enjoy the actual job functions more (i.e. no more stupid IB BS) and a lot more WLB to do the things I love outside of work (i.e. have a life outside of work again). I also feel like worst case scenario, I can always re-join my firm and go back to IB given my strong relationships with the team.
Apologies for the long thread but would love thoughts here from folks who faced or made a similar decision. Was it worth it? Did you enjoy the work more? Any potential cons / risks I'm not thinking about? Anything else I should consider?
Many thanks in advance!
Bump
End goal is to be rich
Read “how to get rich” by ramit Sethi or whatever it’s called
Go corpdev and use your money wisely
Vp2 not intern
How did you get this corp dev seat
Approached by a head hunter however, I've been approached for numerous corp dev roles through previous banking connections.
Good for u what industry?
Bruh how are you guys finding these crazy high paying corp dev roles
Candidly, I think my reps and real experience in the space is rare, plus I have aura...
In all seriousness, I wasn't afraid to negotiate and successfully moved it up.
what are most corp dev gigs when u have 1-3 exp of ib analyst experience? I have an offer of $330k at a startup for corp dev and will be taking - understand this is rare just wondering how rare.
About half that. That’s an absurdly good offer
I would say go with the Corp Dev seat here - IB associate work/life balance, in my opinion, only gets worse due to higher responsibility but still working on junior-level tasks. If your interest is not strong now, it is going to be hard to get it back. If the corp dev seat is with a pre-IPO company, and you believe in the story, even better. I'd think that probably presents a significant wealth-creation opportunity that will continue to compound, and you have the opportunity to grow as a professional with the company as well. You are only two years into your career, and the decisions that you make now are important and will have an impact, but there are 40+ years left where you'll be working. A path in IB or corp dev can take you in a bunch of different directions, and I wouldn't worry about "handicapping" your career.
You'll be in a great position regardless of what you decide. Congratulations on both the promotion and the job offer.
10 closed deals in 2 years? Wow
What vertical/industry if you are open to sharing? Tech or industrials?
Business Services
Quis blanditiis qui dignissimos nihil. Voluptatum dolorum placeat voluptates qui. Tempora minus sint quo sit.
Dolorum mollitia ut quasi animi autem veritatis similique repellendus. Molestias qui et et ut corporis aut quaerat.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...