Options after Strategic Finance?
I have 1.5 years experience in IB and one year experience in a strategic finance role at a F500. Don't hate my role but not particularly as fulfilled as I was hoping for a few reasons including comp progression potential (currently at $130k all-in, which is higher than other corporate roles I've seen at my YoE but feeling the discount from IB and does not move up much with the annual raises) and missing some of the more pure finance / valuation work in IB compared to the more operational / data analytics related work I'm doing now. I really enjoyed M&A and still keep up with markets and news in my free time making me realize that it is truly an interest. The move was definitely a WLB decision after a brutal year in IB though I would also prefer something with a faster pace and also more hours if there's better comp potential. I wouldn't personally mind leaving sooner but thinking hitting two years would be good to have less of a job hopping stigma.
I've thought about a few different potential scenarios. I have been thinking if trying for corp dev at an acquisitive company would make the most sense. My current company doesn't have an official corp dev team and technically any acquisition work would fall in my group but is not likely to happen. Are there any other roles I should consider? Slightly worried about being silo'd on the corporate side now as well and not sure if there's any natural progression into next roles outside of doing something similar at another company. Was not particularly interested in the PE route while in IB but could see some smaller AM / investing roles being interesting though not sure if my current role being not relevant would preclude those regardless of past IB experience. Have thought if gaining some more IB experience would make sense too but also not sure if that's really a possibility now either. Also thought about an MBA maybe closer to the 4-5 year mark as a reset if needed. Interested in anyone here has any thoughts.
An MBA might be good.
I have thought about it though a bit cautious with the cost. Assuming I stick with my current role and have 1 year IB, 2-4 years of my current role, wouldn't an MBA just get me maybe a slightly higher corp position? Wouldn't need it to move up in my current company so not sure if its financially worth it unless I use it to go into IB again or maybe consulting.
Yeah it might be a slightly higher corporate position, but it provides opportunity for growth and networking. It is expensive, but I have heard many people say that attending a T10 FT 2yr MBA program was the 'best decision of their life'. Most of my friends got their MBA like 10 years ago and it is amazing to see their progress. If you want to be CEO of a company, HBS creates more CEOs than any other MBA. I regret not doing a T10 MBA in my 20s, but I was doing other things.
Will take a stab at your question while waiting for other responses.
Job market in general this year is rough, but it seems like if you’re interested in higher comp trajectory and don’t mind higher hours for it, you should strongly consider networking into a strategy consulting role, whether that’s a boutique firm or MBB/ T2.
Also, Corp Dev. would be solid in the sense that your hours would have to go up due to the transactional nature of the work, but you may be able to negotiate equity and more compensation in general.
VC seems like a long-shot but has come up a few times if you look at previous threads. Seems like you don’t want to ramp up to complete IB hours and it’s not really the best economic environment, but you could take a look at capital market roles/ vetted LMM IB junior associate roles with more sustainable hours.
Sell-side ER/S&T/ Corporate Banking/ AM/ PE Secondaries have solid comp trajectory and better hours than IB but would probably involve a brief stop at a small shop first.
As for the MBA, it’s a half a million dollar opportunity cost since it seems like your employer won’t pay for it (2 years of attendance and 2 yrs of forgone salary). I’m not sure anything below an M7 is worth it for you, even then not sure whether its benefits would outweigh its immense costs when you can network your way back into IB/ consulting if desired. Maybe a part-time MBA or EMBA where you can maintain employment and/or employer paid set-up would be a solid situation
Hey, appreciate there response. I definitely started considering consulting, especially people I know at MBB are very satisfied across both WLB and career trajectory. My only issue is the work seems quite qualitative and I'd like to get back more towards finance. Corp Dev seems like a natural next move but also a bit wary of continuing down corporate roles - environment and learning opportunity feels very slowed compared to IB now. I don't know too much about VC though it definitely seems riskier and from what I understand the pay is usually kinda low.
Leaning the same way on the MBA. The cost and opportunity cost is quite large and I'd definitely want M7 if anything. Only considering it if it helps me towards me pivot towards a job I wouldn't be able to currently get.
Makes sense, thanks for adding additional context. I’m curious - what is your current title and what’s the guidance on the timeline of your next promotion title, if you’d be willing to share?
If you are interested in a consulting role, but the MBB work is too qualitative for you, I would suggest looking into Restructuring/Turnaround consulting. The work there is much more quantitative and requires good modeling skills. This area is also more fast paced than a standard Strategic Finance/FP&A role at a F500 and can quickly put you into a leadership position at clients (on the debtor side, credit side consulting is a little different).
The MBA really depends on what you want to do. You already have IB and F500 Finance experience, with that background you do not need an MBA to get into some of the more finance related roles previously mentioned. If you have your heart set on MBB consulting or going into PE, an M7 MBA might make more sense.
Thats really interesting - I actually don't know much at all about the rx consulting space but assume you mean places like A&M, FTI? Would roles at those places require a restructuring background or other type of debt experiences? My IB background is an M&A coverage group and current F500 role doesn't seem like it would translate over much either.
I have gotten the advice from some people (my post-MBA associates mainly lol) that an MBA can be a good way to figure out what you want to do but I can't see myself doing it unless there is a specific role that I would be getting it for given how expensive it is. I miss a bit more of the valuation work in IB and would like to be something where following the markets is apart of the job generally (i.e., doesn't have to be like a trading role but its something I miss in banking from a corporate job is understanding the market and macro trends and how it played into the materials we put together). I wasn't really interested in PE out of banking
I chose my MBA more so on the fact that its arguably a Top 5 US program in an industry I want to pursue afterwards (arguably the best for the niche I want to eventually get into) rather than the actual ranking.
If you like your current industry, might not be a bad idea exploring MBA options based off of 'industry interests' more so than rank.
I will agree with your IB friends, for certain structured recruiting - you would have to come in with a very structured approach. Way more different / unstructured if you realize you want to explore options. At first, that unstructured nature of recruiting / figuring out your career may be overwhelming but for me at least, it's been a blessing in disguise. But I may be the exception as I didn't come from your typical business school background (like you) and needed a credible MBA program to give me a chance to get looks at places that never gave me interviews pre-MBA. Based on how you evaluated the 'MBA' advice you gotten, it doesn't sound like a good idea but I would keep an open mind.
Yes the "Big 3" in that space are A&M, Alix, and FTI. There are also some good boutique firms out there. When you ask if these firms require a "restructuring background", I assume you mean Rx Banking. The answer is no, you do not need Rx Banking experience. There are plenty of CPAs/Auditors hired into the Big 3 at the junior levels, but there really isn't a singular background in the industry. I have seen Rx/Turnaround consultants come from IB, Commercial Lending, FP&A, Valuation/Due Diligence/TAS. At the middle to senior levels you will see people with broader experiences across multiple areas mentioned above, or who are VP/CFOs at other companies. This industry rarely recruits out of college or MBAs with no applicable experience.
You won't have as much "following the market" and valuation pitch material work in this space. Frankly, there is not a lot of PowerPoint work in my experience. Most of the companies you work with (assuming debtor side engagement) are worried about keeping the lights on and are not interested in 50 slide presentations related to macro trends and competitor valuations. That being said, you do need to have a good understanding of the industry and competitive landscape. There are also times where you will work on refinancing a client's debt or selling a distressed client as a going concern. You will typically work with an IB on this, but will perform a lot of the operational modeling that the bank uses for its inputs. For smaller deals at boutique shops, you might actually perform more of the IB work yourself. But this transaction work is not the norm in my experience.
You definitely do not need an MBA for Rx/Turnaround consulting roles, it is nice to have, but better to have applicable experience. In my mind an MBA is good if you are completely switching careers/industries, there is a defined path (e.g., IB--> MBA-->PE/HF), if it is a requirement to advance where you are at, or if your employer pays for it. There are definitely exceptions to this, but to me its all about the ROI of your MBA and what you are interested in doing.
What is comp like for Rx consulting?
It is hard to provide concrete comp numbers because it really depends on what size firm you are at, what market you are in, and how many hours you bill. At the lower to mid levels, bonuses are primarily based on billable hours. At the higher levels bonuses are based on billable hours and also the amount of deal flow you bring in. One nice thing is that you generally know what your minimum bonus will be for different tiers of billable hour targets, which is very transparent. There is also the potential for additional bonuses based on overall firm performance, on top of your billable hour bonus. I put together a very general estimate of comp ranges below, but again, take this with a grain of salt because comp can vary widely across firms, especially at the Director and MD levels due to more of that compensation being based on deal flow.
- Analyst/Associate/Consultant- $90k-$105k Base, 10-20% bonus
- Sr Analyst/Sr Associate/Sr Consultant- $105k-$120K Base, 20-30% bonus
- Manager- $125K-$145K Base, 25%-35% bonus
- Sr Manager- $145K-$165K, 35%-45% bonus
- Director- $170-$185K base, 60%-100% bonus
- Managing Director- $200K-$300K base, 100%-200% bonus
As you can see, the comp is not at the level of IB. But hours are generally less, with 60 hours being on the high end.
get out of F500 and move to a series A-C start-up strategic finance/corp dev role; much more breadth and will expose if you a number of aspects of IB you enjoyed, but on the Company side
Could definitely be more interesting with varied work and probably faster pace and potential equity sounds appealing. Would be a bit worried joining a startup in this macro environment though at least in the next 1-2 year timeframe.
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