Leaving great PE gig 1-year in due to hating the job

Hi,

Looking for some advice (or encouragement I guess) on my situation. I joined a LMM PE shop less than a year ago, with prior experience of 3 years in IB and a short stint at a small business in a financial role. I have now, due to decent work and a great deal of luck the possibility to head a new sector specific team at the shop. I am already before the official promotion bringing in a few deals we are looking at, and will get a few of our more junior resources (even more junior than me) to work with. So all in all a great position to be in. However, I have come to the conclusion that a transaction based career is not for me. I have completely lost interest in doing and participating in transactions and can not imagine myself working in this position even a year. I feel exhausted just thinking about a deal, find myself procrastinating most of the day, get anxiety when new work lands on my desk, and just in general have grown to despise the day-to-day within PE. This has lead to some serious anxiety and almost panic-attack states at times when the stress has been at it's highest.

I have always wanted to build a business of my own and now have a chance to join a small business through some connections and by a stake in it. The business is however very small (just above 5 million dollars in revenue) and my income would decrease drastically. Yet I find myself thinking about this all day everyday.

With limited years of finance experience, I would shoot my potential finance career in the knee by doing this, but at this point I don't feel I would ever want to go back.

So, should I stick with this opportunity and wait for the official promotion, or go with the risky long-term dream?

2 Comments
 

Mollitia consequatur esse exercitationem praesentium. Animi quidem odio accusantium dolor ipsum minima. Laudantium voluptatem sunt asperiores culpa. Quos sit sint iste expedita. Eos asperiores sunt cum est amet quod cupiditate ut. Doloremque qui consequatur sint aperiam. Praesentium quas ipsa qui quam voluptatem.

Id eum soluta explicabo. Ut blanditiis delectus ratione atque. At dolor doloremque autem laboriosam. Et rem qui nostrum nihil.

Id vero et ipsa corporis ad veritatis. Aperiam amet ut atque eveniet et aspernatur molestias. Aut sit impedit reiciendis est praesentium. Repudiandae et et ipsa nihil. Est reprehenderit aperiam nam ducimus praesentium.

Possimus perspiciatis culpa repellat et consequatur assumenda sed. Impedit ut quibusdam doloribus eos repellat aut vitae. Voluptas quidem voluptatem ullam est. Rerum possimus quidem explicabo quaerat explicabo a. Cupiditate adipisci nihil perferendis velit. Consectetur id eos id ex nihil veritatis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
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...”