IB (M&A) to Strategic / Corporate Finance Role: take a pay cut for 40-hour workweeks?
I'm an M&A analyst, formerly a lateral with 2 years of exp. in B4 as a CPA. currently making 120k base, had a 70k bonus last year. won't be an associate until next year (which pays 170k base salary at my firm)
I don't hate the job, but it's definitely a grind with 70+ hour weeks. The bitchwork, unpredictable hours, and lack of technical work is irritating but nothing that makes me 100% certain I want to quit
I recent have an opportunity for a role for a corporate strategic finance / corp dev hybrid role that pays 150k base + 20k bonus. It's going to be a mix of strategic long-range plan modeling, FP&A, and corp dev (mostly very rare potential minority investments). Also mostly remote (4 days a week) and has a reputation / advertises 40-45 hour workweeks.
It all sounds great for now, but it's also going to severely cap my earnings to probably 3-5% a year in the near future. I like making more money, but man IB leaves no time for anything else. Making near 200k with 40 hours sounds like a dream, but I fear I regret leaving so much future earnings growth on the table
Anyone have any advice for a transition like this or had similar experience? Thanks
I started in a role like that.
I watched as 3 of my coworkers with like 20 years of experience at the company all fought for one spot. After years of them competing aggressively for that promotion, the company ended up hiring some VP in banking that was 8 years out of undergrad for 3x the comp of my coworkers.
And honestly, the banking VP did a much much better job than they would have done.
If you like the work in banking and think you can survive the next few years, the role gets much much better and you'll learn a lot quicker than any corporate job. I'm not sure why you think a "strategic finance" role will be any more technical but it won't be. Not even close.
Once you're an associate and especially as a VP in banking, you'll be able to make time for the things that are important. It's still a grind, especially with traveling but it's up to you what to prioritize and if you anticipate / manage expectations appropriately, you'll still be able to do 70% of what you're interested in
thanks. after much evaluation - decided to stay in banking. job is actually pretty easy, just need to have a good temperament to put up with the unpredictability
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