Less mentioned career paths that have compensation that scales to mid 6 figures ($300k - $600k) by mid 30s
Lots of people know that good roles in IB/PE/HF will net someone mid 6 figure compensations within around 10 YOE. Any other roles that scale to this level of income by year 10? A few examples below:
- Buyside IR at a PE fund / other private market investment funds.
- Manager level corporate finance roles in Corp Dev or FP&A can get up there in compensation. Director level of any business function would be around here in a F500.
- Fund of Funds at a large endowment or pension fund.
Any other paths?
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some less-discussed career paths that can scale to mid 6-figure compensation ($300k-$600k) by your mid-30s, typically within 10 years of experience:
Corporate Finance Roles (Director Level or Higher)
Investor Relations (IR)
Fund of Funds (FoF)
Specialized Consulting
Quants and Financial Engineering
Tech-Adjacent Finance Roles
Real Estate Private Equity (REPE)
Specialized Roles in Asset Management
Entrepreneurial Consulting or Advisory Businesses
Cushier Corporate Roles
These paths often require a mix of strategic positioning, networking, and sometimes a bit of luck, but they demonstrate that there are many ways to achieve strong compensation outside of the traditional IB/PE/HF tracks.
Sources: Finance Career Path & List, Millionaire by 30, Does anything pay better than finance?, Accounting vs Finance: Part 1 – Career Paths, Millionaire by 30
bump
Not getting that comp as mid-level professional in corporate or as an asset allocator.
For buyside IR it’s possible at a MF or even UMM that sells itself, but it’s not a good role outside of that unless you really enjoy sales. You’re going to be benchmarked on how well you can fundraise and convince people to give you money, particularly at a smaller shop where it’ll be a lot of cold outreach. It’s also not a very transferable skill set to elsewhere in finance compared to corporate which may pay less initially.
Your best option is joining a corporate that promotes relatively young or relatively quickly. One random example, outside of the standard startup / early stage unicorn answer is RBI. Their CEO was appointed in like his early 30s and and was CFO at 28. Their head of IR at one point was also appointed at only 29. If someone has other F500 examples, please share!
Most jobs in finance (outside of IB/Buyside) are “priced in”. The alpha only comes from doing something you’re good at or enjoy.
RBI's is most likely related to its 3G Capital history, which also placed a 29 year old CFO at Kraft Heinz. ABI looks to have pretty quick career progression related to this as well.
Also curious about other corporates that may have accelerated paths for top performers. Agree that manager level in large corporate is not getting there, but director/senior director comp at large corporate should all-in be getting around that $300k mark and that is doable for a typical strong performer/promotion pathway by mid 30s especially in VHCOL cities. The nice thing about these large corporate jobs is that they're also doable in much cheaper cities where the lower comp will still go much further.
can easily achieve that at a top Fof or a family office for that matter, coming from someone at a top Fof (ignore title). As for family offices, when they are a non-profit like the William and flora Hewlett Foundation, you can simply search up "William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Form 990" and they are required to post their top investment professionals compensation due to non-profit status
can I DM you? Actually landed a role at a FoF post grad actually.
Are you referring to asset allocators or like secondaries shops?
Sapiente adipisci molestias molestiae vitae voluptas. Quaerat est tenetur distinctio laborum id sint voluptates recusandae.
Corrupti inventore consequuntur voluptatem. Consectetur molestias explicabo atque et reiciendis. Sed dolores nulla est sunt sint inventore. Sed et quo sed dolore sunt tenetur.
Ipsam nihil molestiae omnis harum voluptatem fuga enim. Fuga laborum sunt qui eum saepe rerum dolor. Dolores qui dolorem enim fuga et error. Ex qui ipsa sint est qui consequatur similique.
Consequuntur esse eos libero voluptatibus. Sunt praesentium vel soluta fuga cumque. Laboriosam nulla vitae amet sequi occaecati. Amet nam eveniet non aliquam. Qui excepturi labore fuga culpa ut voluptas temporibus. A qui quod laborum delectus et ut.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...