Private Equity
Associate: You made it to PE. From consulting, but most likely banking. When you got that offer, you were on top of the world - I'm the best of the best, handpicked amongst 1000s of bankers. You're on a certain path to become a millionaire, perhaps a billionaire. Life is better than investment banking - you still work hard, but sometimes you get to leave at 7 or 8pm. You actually are thinking about what you do - the transition is quite hard at the beginning. You also realize that everybody around you is fucking smart and it scares you a little, because you were used to be the sharpest guy in the room all the time. Life is mostly good, you're still thinking about where your career will take you. You can feel empty at times - what is next? Is this the life you want? what else is out there? Because you've always been an optimizer, and headhunters are reaching out to you all the time, you wonder.
Principal: Being a principal is hard. There is no hiding - you actually are in charge of leading the execution of deals, and the pressure to perform is immense. You're the guy that people trust to get things done. Coordinating associates' work, managing MDs/partners expectations, making some key decisions. You're also trying to get close to the successful MDs. Who wants to work on crappy deals that have no chance to get through? you know very well that you need to work on a couple of high-profile transactions to make it to the next level. When you get back home in the evening, all you can think about are the deals you're working on. You're making good money, not incredibly good though, but overall you're happy.
MD/Partner. If you made it that far, it means you're good. The transition was probably super smooth, and actually, you realize that the job is not really any different. But there is one new thing for you to manage: the firm. Recruiting? Fundraising? Budgeting and managing the cost base? Negotiating carried interest? Worrying about actual performance!! You feel like an adult and you start to really understand how the whole game works. And because they asked you to put your own money in the fund, you take your job way more seriously. You most likely have some grey hair showing up at that point. Life is good, but there are always a couple of calls you have to take in the evening, emails, and decisions that need to be made. Maybe if you ran your own firm, you could do things differently. You think about it... if the deals you made end up being massive successes, maybe you'll give it a go.
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