Picking Between Tech v HC

At an EB and currently struggling to make a choice and would love to hear from someone who made a similar choice or is further along in their career and has nuggets of wisdom to share. 

Tech Pros

  1. I am intellectually interested in tech. Day to day-wise, I would find the work cooler, the deals more interesting.
  2. On that note, I am only interested in tech related exit opps, whether that means growth equity or MF or joining a startup right away. Preferably growth equity focused on enterprise solutions tbh, or VC focusing on AI.
  3. The tech team here is (as we all know) sweaty, which admittedly does translate to better learning opps, more ownership, cooler exposure, more reps. I do index on learning so this is important to me.
  4. Junior culture is awesome and I like the vibe of the analysts/associates. 

Tech Cons

  1. Again, it's sweaty. Very, very sweaty. The thing is, the past few months of having so much free time, I realized how much I enjoy and need to work out, eat healthy, get enough sleep. Along with that, how much my hobbies fulfill me and how cool it would be to work on them while in NYC (they're arts related). Also, I have a long-distance partner and want to make sure that I spend time on my relationship. I think watching my hobbies, health, and relationships slip away from me might genuinely make me depressed.
  2. A lot of variability when it comes to people you work with. There's some less than pleasant people to work with...
  3. Constantly on call (tied to pt 1). Never truly off work. 

HC Pros

  1. A top group with top deal flow, yet with (in banking standards) amazing WLB. Juniors on average are able to get 8 hrs of sleep. Saturdays are mostly protected where I can work on my hobbies and go work out or fly out to see my partner.
  2. I loved both the juniors and the seniors. Everyone really respected your time and if there was a bit of thrash, it was acknowledged and not swept under the rug and even apologized for. The seniors all have families and show a commitment to the relationships in their life too.
  3. I know people have been able to exit to non-HC opps post experience. 

HC Cons

  1. I have no intrinsic interest in HC, so the day-to-day will be less intellectually stimulating for me I imagine.
  2. I do not want to work in HC post banking, and while there are some people that managed to change industries after, I don't know how likely it is, especially if my dream exit will be something like a growth fund specializing on AI-enabled enterprise solutions. (Would love to hear those more experienced pitch in here especially on how much your banking industry group matters).
  3. I think also less learning and less ownership tbh. Heard more hierarchal. 

In summary, I think if I knew that I am totally able to interview for a legit tech growth fund while also learning a lot in HC, I would 100% do it. However, I just don't know if it's doing myself a disservice if I know I don't want to do HC just because I get to have some short term fulfillment. But also, even though everyone says "it's just two years," that's a long time for me to not improve at the gym, or get better at boxing, or not fulfill some personal dreams in New York, or not see my partner consistently or have the ability to take PTO. 

Would love to hear any and all takes. Thank you very much!

5 Comments
 

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