To leave F500 or not?

I am a couple weeks from finishing my first year in Finance at a F10 Oil & Gas company. The work is really boring, I probably have a promotion coming sometime in the next year.

I went to a non-target state school, so this was really probably the best job I could have gotten from recruiting on campus.

I just got an offer to go to a fairly small firm about 40 people that does Risk and portfolio management for smaller financial institutions.

Do you think I would be better off staying or leaving? The newer job would definitely be more interesting, but it is a fairly big pay cut. I'm not as concerned about the money as I am about the effect on my future prospects.

5 Comments
 

In my experiences I have learned, when it comes to work, money > everything else.

You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 

What do you think you want to do with your career? Staying at the Big Oil company will probably help you more in terms of a B-school app (since you went to a non-target).

Also: define "decently big pay cut".

MM IB -> Corporate Development -> Strategic Finance
 

I'd love to get in to Consulting or IB, neither were really options coming out of school though. As far as the pay cut, would be from mid sixties to around fifty.

I figure the current job would be better for B-school, maybe I could sneak into Duke or Virginia something maybe 10-15 or so. Figure anything top 10 is going to be pretty hard to pull off.

With the new job my thought was that I would be learning much more, and be in a better market. Then I could hopefully network into something better with that experience.

 
Best Response
Billy BeaneI'd love to get in to Consulting or IB, neither were really options coming out of school though. As far as the pay cut, would be from mid sixties to around fifty.

I figure the current job would be better for B-school, maybe I could sneak into Duke or Virginia something maybe 10-15 or so. Figure anything top 10 is going to be pretty hard to pull off.

With the new job my thought was that I would be learning much more, and be in a better market. Then I could hopefully network into something better with that experience.

This shouldn't even be a thought in your mind. Take a 15k pay cut for some no name crap boutique doing risk management?

If you are in a F10 energy company, I assume you are in Texas. Stay the course and get your company to pay for an MBA from Texas.

You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 

Similique autem expedita sit molestias eum. Possimus totam libero iusto illum totam. Autem quisquam veritatis vel incidunt rerum molestiae et.

Ratione impedit sit est. Nobis quia dolores minus quia. Sed sapiente quam enim corrupti ab perspiciatis natus rem.

Excepturi sequi a illum. Hic cupiditate libero et rerum dolores nostrum. Aut voluptate maxime et delectus ducimus. Et dicta et quod nulla illo deleniti. Dolore iure quia voluptates ipsa assumenda omnis.

Molestias aut non iste quisquam modi. Enim est reprehenderit sint veniam dolor ullam vitae. Nobis distinctio culpa explicabo ad autem ratione aut. Consequatur delectus enim enim sint dolorem suscipit recusandae.

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”