Looking to go into IB for a few years, but also thinking about exit opportunities if I decide to leave. What are the best opportunities which provide a much better WLB than IB, preferably 60 hours max? Was looking at Corp Dev, RE, maybe PE? Don't really know comp/ hours on those. Any help appreciated. Cheers.
| +171 | Why UBS Is the Worst Place to Start Your IB Career | 32 | 3m |
| +159 | ONLY THESE BANKS OR YOU STRUCK OUT | 39 | 7h |
| +115 | IB Energy Drink Tier List / Ranking | 74 | 6h |
| +65 | Firm Thinks I'm Lying About Offer | 20 | 6h |
| +54 | Indiana University Fraternity Pipelines | 34 | 5h |
| +42 | Rogo AI | 18 | 1h |
| +39 | Stay at Weak Dealflow Team or Lateral? | 12 | 1d |
| +37 | Elite Boutique interview questions | 8 | 1d |
| +33 | Suspended for a Year | 12 | 4h |
| +22 | 1st Half 2026 (1H26) RX IB & RX Co. Rankings | 14 | 2d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
I would say it depends on what your background is in. For example, a buddy of mine was in the energy group at Bank of America. After his 2 years he moved to a Business Development role at Clearway Energy Group, which is a renewable energy developer. I'm not sure if he took a pay cut, but I can tell he's much happier.
However, another friend of mine was in Asset Management at Lazard. Eventually said fuck it, moved to Switzerland, got a master's degree in music, and now he travels around Europe playing the organ in churches. You can literally do whatever you want.
On the theme of work life, any jobs that are good work life not in terms of pure hours but that you can truly unplug after work / weekends even if the actual work week is longer?
Real estate is probably a good one. Investor relations or business development/partnerships if you’re open to sales.
You can take an investing or business development role at a big asset manager (PIMCO, Blackrock. Dodge & Cox, etc.). These pay banking salaries (and sometimes more at top levels) with usually sub-60 hour work days.
The only issue is that (as in any established buy-side firm, PE included), getting to the top at these places is a lot harder than IB given low turnover, and most firms require an MBA.
Source: I did banking and worked at one of the aforementioned funds.
Did you work in bus dev or an investing role?
Credit research. But I know from my buddies that comp (at least at the junior level) isn't much different for business development.
PIMCO doesn’t do sub 60 hour works weeks lol
At a mid sized family office with a very good WLB.
Corp Dev was the route I pursued after IB and it has been a bit mixed in terms of WLB for my tenure in the field.
A big part of it is the culture of the groups you join along with the deal flow. It is technically better hours than IB although depending on your deal plate at a given time.
Corp dev at a firm that doesn't like to acquire that much, corp strategy, investor relations, AM, RE although they really prioritize RE experience over more "valuable" experience like IB. PE is out if you want 60 hours max, even some LMMs grind out crazy hours.
You'll take a 30-40% paycut or more, but you will also work half the hours
Really important to diligence WLB though, it's very group dependent. Figure out how long people stay and if they tend to leave internally or externally. Ask people about hobbies to figure out what they do on weekends. If you're comfortable, say you're coming from IB and WLB is very important and straight up ask about their hours.
Officia quasi eaque atque. Impedit quam qui voluptatem beatae quia quibusdam. Officia aperiam labore atque sit animi. Voluptatem vel sequi consequuntur nemo deleniti consequatur. Eaque tempore aliquid sapiente blanditiis.
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...