Really want to exit..
Am a first year IB analyst in a TMT group. As I’ve progressed through the job I feel like I may need something with a bit of a slower pace. Prestige doesn’t hold much weight to me and by no means am I interested in making insane amounts of money at the cost of time spent with family and friends. I feel like I’m not good at this job bc I don’t like it and wake up every day completely miserable. The thought of continuing something like this for 2 years is truly heartbreaking and seems impossible .
What are my options? Lastly, how bad would it be if I left banking before 2 years?
Would love to hear any thoughts!
What type of bank are you at? BB, MM, EB? That will determine what kind of exit op you can get. Won’t lie PE is very similar to IB, and the WLB isn’t great. Same with MBB consulting. I’d say try to exit to a CorpDev or Strategy role if possible. As for you exiting IB before two years, it doesn’t really matter. Ik a guy who exited after 9 months to an MBB.
Thanks for the response. I’m at one of the top BBs. PE may be out the door tbh for the reasons you’ve mentioned. Was thinking corporate but would love to hear more about those roles and if I’d be a good fit. Any resources you recommend?
I’m sure most Corporate roles would love a former BB Investment Banker. Not to sure about resources for these roles, but I’m sure wso or cfi has some stuff to prepare. As for the type of companies you could work for, probably tech sector, as you’re a TMT banker. Maybe a company you advised on in M&A potentially?
Nothing wrong with leaving banking after less than 2 years. Know someone who exited to PE after only 9 months, and it’s not held them back one bit
No harm in leaving quickly especially if you are genuine about why (that the culture / pace wasn't a fit for you). You've already done something impressive by getting there, and IB having grueling culture is hardly an outlandish take.
Thanks for the response man. I guess I’m also wary on how steep a pay cut I’d take if I leave early and if I’d even be able to make it to a decent corporate name.
You're almost definitely going to take a pay cut but depending on what type of role you head into, it might not be too outrageous. You could consider something like Private Bank which has slightly better WLB and the pay won't be a huge step down (obviously read about it and decide if those skills / responsibilities suit you). If you work at a firm with both, it may be a simpler internal transfer.
I also have a good friend who works in transaction / payment services for a BB...basically he sells his bank's transaction processing and cash-management services to F500 companies. I don't know too much of the details but lots of stuff like that exists, where you still make great money for a recent college grad, but where hourly expectations are more modest than IB.
And ultimately if you try something like that out for a year and still hate the environment, you could go do something totally different. Two caveats of course are that 1) if you leave IB under 1yr you're gonna get questions around that even if your reasons are strong, and 2) it's always easier to leave than it is to come back, so just be sure of what you're doing before you pull the trigger on anything
Good luck man
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