Should I Stay in Corporate Finance or Pivot to a More Demanding Role? Seeking Advice
I currently work in corporate finance (have worked up the ladder and equivalent to a 3rd year analyst, Assistant Manager/Senior), earning $105k all-in with a very manageable schedule—about 25-30 hours a week. My typical week is M-W in the office from 8-3, with Thursdays and Fridays remote, and very little work required on those days. While I’m incredibly grateful for the work-life balance this offers, I’ve recently become more aware of other career paths like PE, VC, HF, or IB.
These roles clearly offer higher earning potential, but I see many posts on WSO from people in these fields describing 60+ hour weeks and often hating their work-life balance to an extreme amount (which I’ve seen as I have friends who have gone through serious depression).
Here’s my dilemma: • I’m ambitious and genuinely want to work more hours to challenge myself and grow my career. • However, I’m hesitant to give up the quality of life I have now, especially when the increase in pay (50-75% more for double the hours at a similar age) may not feel worth it. • I’ve always been interested in investing, managing both my own and my family’s portfolio, and even got an offer at Morgan Stanley out of college (though the $70k pay at the time wasn’t appealing and from what I read a fairly “automatic job” as I came from a target school with a high gpa).
Would moving into a higher-pressure, higher-pay field like PE, VC, or IB be the right move? Or is it smarter to leverage my current position and work toward internal opportunities like corporate development while maintaining work-life balance? I’d love to hear perspectives from people who’ve made similar choices or can weigh in on the trade-offs between quality of life and ambition.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, your situation is a classic trade-off between ambition and quality of life. Here are some key considerations to help you decide:
Work-Life Balance vs. Ambition:
Earning Potential:
Interest in Investing:
Long-Term Goals:
Mental Health and Burnout:
Actionable Steps:
- Network: Speak with professionals in PE, VC, IB, and corporate development to understand their day-to-day and assess cultural fit.
- Certifications/Education: Consider pursuing an MBA or CFA to open doors to higher-paying roles without immediately jumping into a high-stress environment.
- Internal Growth: Explore opportunities within your current company to take on more responsibility or transition to corporate development.
- Test the Waters: If you're still unsure, consider internships or short-term projects in these fields to gauge your interest and tolerance for the workload.
Ultimately, the decision depends on your priorities. If you're ambitious but value balance, corporate development or strategy roles might be the sweet spot. If you're ready to sacrifice balance for a few years to maximize earnings and career growth, a move to PE, VC, or IB could be worth it.
Sources: Private Equity shops with the best work/life balance, From Private Equity Associate to VP in Private Equity, Life after 2 years in Private Equity, Handling Stress / Burnout in Private Equity, IB -> Corporate / Commercial Banking or Private Lending
It is not going to be 60h — think like 80-90 median / 130 max / 85 mode / 50-60 min
Earnings will be a lot higher. Work will be a lot more demanding in more than just hours. Work will be straining at times in hairier situations and there will be a lot of expectation that you deliver certain outcomes with little to no supervision. That’s in PE.
You’ll probably need to do banking first which is more like 90-100 median but with downtime.
To me it does not sound like you should make this jump — generally people go into banking / PE because they want to work all the time and make a lot of money — “I want to make incremental money but not go crazy on hours” is not a recipe for success in these fields, especially at the junior / entry levels.
Perhaps mgmt consulting? It’s still a good amount of hours (~70-80 I think?) but you can just do a couple years there and then have a lot of optionality into higher paying roles in corporate that are chiller, and it’s good money. Travel though. In banking even the exit opps are brutal WLB except corp dev. Maybe corp dev? But seems like you’re already in a role like that and w/o banking/PE you might not have access yet to the higher 6fig roles with WLB that folks often take to chill out a little.
I think taking the higher paying job at a young age is a better financial decision. Say you were able to save an extra $50k annually. Growing at 7% a year your $50k would double in 10 years.
If you front load earnings and then move to a more chill job, you allow compounding to do wonders by the time you get older. Also, think about the horsepower you have today vs when you’re 40? Do what is best for you but these are certainly some considerations.
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