Leave Cushy Job for IB?
Curious as to what the more tenured monkeys on here think...
Would you leave a cushy CB job paying ~$140K all-in in LCOL for an IB Associate role making ~double that (LCOL as well, but different city)?
Important considerations: cushy CB job is rarely more than a 40 hour a week job. Plenty of time to workout, cook, spend time with the girlfriend etc. IB role would be ~70 hours a week vs. the current 40 I work now and would make it near impossible to workout more than 2x a week and I'd have to meal prep vs. cooking hot fresh meals for dinner... would also see the girlfriend considerably less.
I'm torn. I really would love to do IB but I just can't decide if it's worth it when considering the hours differential.
You didn't talk about if you enjoy your current work/company/team though...If you enjoy what you do now, earn enough to live comfortable, and have time to spend how you like, why would you jump to IB "because you always wanted to"?
Your considerations, as given, should be afterthoughts. Personally I left my old job because I didn't enjoy the work anymore, and the company/team went to shit. I chose IB because working on meaningful deals in a sector I'm actually interested in is way more attractive, and I was able to be selective enough to join a team/bank that shares my values.
I don't mind what I do right now - I don't love it, but it's easy and incredibly laid back/chill. The only issue is, there's not too much upside from here for quite some time.
Would I like IB more? I definitely would enjoy *most* of what the work entails more - but enough to work an additional ~30 hours a week? Tough call.
Understand the lack of upside and feeling of professional stagnation. You might also explore interesting functions/roles that would be of interest. IB isn't the only other option.
Also worth mentioning that you may or may not need to do an MBA to pivot into IB. I don't know your current job function/IB connections, but it tends to be the cleanest post-undergrad route in barring any serious connections.
Feel free to DM me if you want to chat in more detail about anything.
Granted I’m a Analyst 1 lateral, but feel like I was in a similar spot as you are so wanted to offer my 2 cents
I worked in corp fin at a F500 company, blue chip company. Work was decent but could get pretty boring. Rarely ever longer than 40 hour weeks. I recruited hard to get into IB in a coverage group for the same industry and got in at a BB.
My work is undoubtedly more interesting and As someone in my mid 20s I don’t regret my decision. With that being said- it is tough. I see my social life / friends slipping away as I spend constant hours in the office. I have to force myself to find ~1 hour max to hit the gym (at the expense of probably working past midnight due to that). I’m lucky that my office culture is pretty good which makes it a lot better but there are major pros and cons you should consider. Also, in my group our associates pretty frequently pull more than 70 hours but thats group specific.
appreciate the insight. FWIW, the bank/group is definitely not BB type hours but I imagine they could definitely get up to 80-85 hours for a bad week.
The part where you mention your social life/friends slipping away is what really scares me.
Honestly if what you said is true and 80 hours is a bad week that’s pretty reasonable. Sure you’ll be busier than your current role, but you’ll still have a few easier days / most weekends free. If I were you I’d try to ask someone else in the position candidly about the hours. Most people tend to understand it’s a very fair question to ask (also because they don’t want someone to come in with a skewed perspective who ends up hating the role cause the hours are too long)
Depends - how old are you? Do you have a house already? What about marriage and kids? If in your 30s, have a house, and married or in LTR then I say just keep milking the cow at your current job for the easy life
late 20s. No house. Serious GF who I will most likely be proposing to within the next 12-18mo. Worth mentioning that she makes decent money too (she's a bit younger than me and she could have a $20-30k bump within the next 3 years here)... we're at ~$215K all-in in a combined basis currently.
Don't do it. I'd maybe consider lateraling within CB if you want to do better on comp (as long as it's not a firm that buckets CB and IB together, those CBs pull brutal hours)
70 hours in IB would be on the lighter side for an associate - and even if they're telling you less, I'd expect 80-85 consistently. Don't forget working most weekends, and IB tends to put an incredible strain on relationships. I just think IB is not worth it if you already have a solid paying job, happy life... especially if your reason for IB is just that you really want to do it, not that you'll suffer for a year to jump to corp dev, LMM PE, etc. Grass is always greener, but the grass is actually on fire in IB
Appreciate the reply
I'm in a similar mindset, but in CF. Its a tough internal debate, but the regret of omission is driving me toward pursuing IB opportunities. My thoughts are I can always boomerang back to CF, but the window for IB is narrowing and a tough 12-18 months at the associate level can pay off exponentially for upward mobility and pay.
Feel you on regret of omission. Sounds like it would be easy for you to move back to CF in a similar role so less risk from that perspective. If I left my current gig, I likely couldn't come back as these roles don't open all that often...
Are you really only trying to be an Assoc in IB for 12-18 mo? What would you do after that?
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