Post IB Exit, My Corp Dev Job is Fake AF but Pays So Well and is Easy
Hey Guys, wanted thoughts if I should jump ship or just stay here and chill.
Exited banking and hated it and knew PE would be worse so I accepted a corp dev position, I am 24. The job pays $230k all in (which from what I have observed is on the higher end for Corp Dev, but my company is a decacorn which is most likely why) hours are 30 a week and my team just straight up does not work Fridays. No one logs on. Insane I know. No weekend work either.
My concern is I literally do not learn anything or do anything. The most complex part of my job is talking to capIQ support and having them make formulas for me, and updating and refreshing slides and backups that were made by the person I replaced. I love the hours, culture, work is so easy and not stressful, but have been here for 6 months and have learned NOTHING and really have done nothing either.
Wanted thoughts if it would be dumb for me to jump ship just for development reasons / growing myself. I am definitely getting some grass is greener mentality but wanted to shoot my shot at LMM PE or something to try and earn more as I get older as we know scale in these positions aren't suepr good. Not posting this to fake brag on the internet to strangers, just worried if I am ever laid off, if my company goes under, etc, I will literally just be hitting the job market as useful as a 20 year old summer analyst..
Your life sounds like my dream. How good of a bank/group were you at before this?
Was a Wells Fargo / UBS / Deutsch / TD / RBC - So not great or top at all. My group was coverage but probably ranked like #4 out of the 12 we have.
Damn that's amazing, good to know that the rat race can end if you so choose
How did you source the role? HH or job posting?
Were you able to sniff out before accepting that it would be chill? If so, what indicated it would be?
I'm looking to make an exit sometime soon.
so it just depends on what your end goal is and how much you want to work. you could volunteer to help other departments, look to improve models etc. you could create your own projects just to practice e.g. create some M&A / integration / disposal models etc. See if you could combine your responsibilities with some type of Chief of Staff position.
think about what type of role you want in your next position. look up some job specs and see what they include and practice doing that stuff. e.g. maybe try create some competitor analysis etc. a lot of it would be just being able to talk the talk...once in a new role you could prob just blag it / improve prior workbooks etc.
easier said than done but you could try make your own business. invest your cash in some crap like vending machines or something and try and grow it etc. but honestly this is how it is in many corporates. i do 2-3 days WFH and I just spend those days with my family / hobbies and cram the work for office days.
Yeah you should definitely leave, so I can come take your role
230K corp all-in with just 2-years of IB? You realize I can't even find that as an IB associate right? Maybe my search has just been unlucky thus far, but I would wager it's more likely that you're just an outlier and don't realize how great of a spot you're in. Would assume at the very least this is a VHCOL spot?
Yeah admittedly I got super lucky, just kept my eyes peeled on daily linkedin postings and came across it. Other similar positions were all $120k-$175k range. Completely acknowledge im in an outlier position and lucky. Yes, this is NYC / SF / LA
how do you have your title as your username?
First thought is your comp and hours are most peoples' dreams, so I wouldn't take that for granted. That being said, if you don't have live reps under your belt when you inevitably leave for a higher title somewhere else (Corp Dev people don't usually give up their seat at the table in the higher levels because of the exact reason you're conflicted now), then the interview process for the next step in your career will be more difficult. Going from a Corp Dev Associate to Manager, it's not unheard of for the candidate to only have completed a few M&A transactions in their Corp Dev role. However, I don't know if I've met someone who went from Manager to Director/VP without a concrete and robust transaction history. If your company is in a lull because valuations or macro environment are prohibitive, then wait it out and collect a nice paycheck. If your company is averse to deal flow and inorganic growth, then it might be time to look for another Corp Dev role somewhere else, even if it is a comp decrease and working 50 hours instead of 30.
I am younger than you and haven’t exited so take this question with a grain of salt - have you ever thought about starting your own business or joining a remote startup while still working your day job?
I feel given that you are young and 30 hrs/week is quite minimal, you could embark on something entrepreneurial or challenging outside of work to gain fulfillment?
Might be the only time in life you’d be able to do this.
The show Silicon Valley said it well…rest and vest
made a similar move during my analyst stint. great job, pretty coasty, analyzing new markets and adjecencies and put together deal materials to the board for some smaller target acquisitions.. got laid off during covid and pivoted into consulting/business value.
now making good money, doing interesting work with c-suites and working 35hrs a week, no weekends and own my time, run my region (under 30yo)
i would deffo learn new skills with the free time in corp dev, i put some new initiatives together learnt to code and given i was at a smaller firm built dashboards (self taught SQL and PowerBI) for the sales, marketing team whilst working closely with BI teams. lateraled with good ops experience and a compelling story to showcase i can run my own streams and generate ideas, with the addition of speaking the language of c-suite / investing.
to your point, also was offered SME PE, so a PE entry isn't out of reach but ultimately turned it down because IB 2.0 wasn't interesting when talking to members of the team
From my understanding, a lot of these corp dev / corp strategy roles are getting eliminated with the current economic conditions. Trend carefully OP. I know people who were in a very similar situation and lost their jobs last year.
Great troll post. Love it.
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