Am I stupid?
I could be stupid in many ways, but which of the two options below do you think makes me stupid?
1. Either because I have accepted an offer to go into corporate M&A while I could have gotten into almost any PE from my BB IB position. No one from my firm & team has made this choice before that I know of. Was I stupid?
2. Or, am I stupid not to just appreciate this opportunity that pays me in line with my BB bank (A2) while also going to be able to work (hopefully) less hours and get my life back?
I really don’t know and it feels like I have made a bad choice that will impact my career and life negatively. Perhaps it’s just the overwhelming feeling of what “society” would like me to do (i.e., do PE) and that I will not be well regarded amongst peers anymore.
What’s your view?
Pick what fits the kind of life you want. I don't mean the "I'll make millions for retirement if I grind out and be miserable through my prime" kind of happy. I mean what really makes you happy.
It really is a resource allocation question, the resource being your time. The choice is yours on how you want to spend it and there really is no wrong answer.
For some, life is way way WAY more than optionality and carry. For others, the grind and the game are exhilarating and makes them happy. And there are a million shades in between.
You should make the choice that makes the most sense for what you value in life. I'm guessing you're rather young, so maybe you haven't quite put into stone what you truly want out of life, and that's ok. It's very easy to get wrapped up in the fantasy of what the future could look like if you follow the "traditional" route of IB to PE and make hundreds of thousands a year (if not millions once you reach the MD level, which obviously you'd make...right?) and have a flashy lifestyle of fine dining, luxury vacations, nice cars, expensive houses/apartments, etc. and honestly who wouldn't want all that? The problem with all that, is that most people never fully realize those dreams and usually because there aren't a lot of seats at the top and people have other priorities in life besides trying to get there. As people get older, they want to spend more time with their friends, family, and significant other which isn't conducive to a career path that requires you to work all night and on the weekends.
If you're worried about what your peers think instead of your own happiness, then you might need to reevaluate why you're doing what you're doing. Your peers will leave the office and go back to their lives and not think of your career decisions, so you certainly shouldn't base your career decisions on their opinions. If you feel burnt out, corp dev is a great move for you. If you just like the idea of growing 1 company instead of churn through companies in PE or only be an advisor in IB, then corp dev is a great move for you. Even if you just think it's more stable of a career path, then corp dev is a great move for you. Your reasons are your own and they don't need to be justified to anyone other than yourself.
Think about why you decided to make the move in the first place and check if those reasons align with what you want moving forward. If your reasons still make sense to you, then you made the right choice. Anyone who thinks less of you for doing what's best for you is not looking after your best interests.
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