Need Good IB Exit Opportunities with Max Pay with Min Hours

I have accepted an offer from an MM IB shop in NYC. Its a solid place to work and I definitely think I could do it for a year or two. I'm sure I want to exit after that though and I'm not sure PE is for me because it does not seem like the hours get a whole lot better and I want to have lots of time to work on the things I'm passionate about. I've read that venture capital could be a little better hours, and Corporate Finance seems like it would be, but are there any other exit opps I should be looking at? It would be sick to work like 45ish hours a week and make like 150kish with bonus. Thanks.

18 Comments
 

Private credit / direct lending shops. 50-60 hour weeks usually, and only slightly less pay compared to ib, although it could pay more potentially as well 

 

Anything buyside but not pure buyouts at a UMM PE or MF PE would work.

Some chiller MM / LMM PE, PE at a SWF / pension, PE co-investments, primary funds, secondaries, private credit, corp. dev, ECM / DCM banking, some MM and LMM growth and VC, public equities - lots of places to choose from that are less hours than traditional banking and in the long run, equal pay / slight pay cut / meaningful pay cut but still solid 6 figures with more WLB

 

Hey, I want to learn more about secondaries, but googling it brings up a lot of results. Know any good 101 resources out there, please

 
Most Helpful

Look up GP-led, LP-led, and direct secondaries. You’ll get more relevant results. Read articles in CIO or Institutional Investor. There’s also PEI Secondaries, SecondaryLink, and other news sites. Also Hiive posts a decent amount on LinkedIn if you’re into direct secondaries. It is pretty niche so you need to look up the right things. CAIA has some resources too.

 

Private credit. Similar comp to PE, until you get into carry. Better hours. Some firms can probably still be tough depending on strategy.

 

I'd be happy to give you suggestions, as long as you don't follow anything I say

 

Fugit consectetur molestiae optio laborum. A enim commodi accusamus numquam.

Autem soluta quis sit fugit labore. Debitis omnis molestiae illum veniam nostrum et. Non earum illo a qui et laboriosam est.

Nostrum tempora aliquid nisi sapiente. Culpa minima nulla molestiae dicta ut ea laborum. Ut iusto excepturi possimus ea enim aliquid velit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”