Now that bonus numbers have been communicated, I'm wondering what I wonder every year around this time: what's next after Wall Street? Except this year I am getting pretty serious as I'll be entering my 30s soon and weighing other things important in my life like perhaps getting married to someone who won't want to live in a finance centric city. Background: non-target, I-banking, PE. Have been working non-stop for 7+ years and bschool is probably out of the question (applied once and didn't get into HSW, plus I think I'm getting too old for elite MBA given my background). I still do like finance and have enough knowledge about a lot of sectors to sound knowledgable to anyone not working in those sectors. I'm thinking about moving to the west coast to a relatively non-finance centric city (ie not LA or SF). So what do people whose relatively short careers have been on Wall St (and no MBA) do when they move to a tier 2 or 3 city and still want to make a respectable income for that market? Will it be a numbing corporate job at a Fortune 500 (assuming I can even get that over freshly minted MBAs) or will I just end up crushing ABL lending at like a B of A or some regional bank I've never heard of? Any relevant story or experience would be appreciated!
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No relevant story or experience, but I'd imagine you'd be able to get a Manager-level position (possibly higher) with an F500. Not all corpfin jobs are mind-numbingly dull. You can aim for a corpdev or corpstrat position, or maybe even something like FP&A.
He could have had the Manager-level job in corp finance at a F500 company 3 years ago.
Would it really be possible to get a manager level job right away at a F500? I have friends coming right out of top bschools (HSW) and when they go into corporate, they're either at the most junior level of the strategy/FP&A dept or they're like immediately above the guy straight out of undergrad. I would think I'd comp to fresh MBA grads if not worse since I don't have one. Also, I think corp dev, strategy, etc at a higher level would be probably interesting, especially if you're at a company that's pretty active doing M&A or HY and would directly relate to my experience. I meant mind numbing as in the day to day and having to deal with the massive bureaucracy innate to a F500. This is at least based in stories I've heard.
I honestly don't know where you'd come out at. I do know you don't need an MBA to come in at the Manager level. 7 years of experience is a lot more than most MBA grads have (usually 3-5). A lot of places accept experience over education. There's a chance you'd need a PT MBA to keep moving up the ranks, though that's not certain by any means. You also won't be able to get into a rotational program, which is often what MBAs aim for. Also keep in mind that a lot of people use MBAs to move a stagnating career forward, fast track to the manager level, etc.
Usually Managers are immediately above entry-level hires. I mean, there's the Senior FA position between FA and Manager, but usually that's more of a promotion in name/experience rather than a huge difference in responsibilities. Honestly though, this all varies by company. Getting to that level really depends on the company. Some companies it's doable in 5, others it takes 10+.
The way I understand it, most corpdev roles are pretty active. They keep the teams lean for a reason. Same with strat. The work will be rewarding though (especially in Strat, everyone I talk to who has/does work in strat loves it). As for bureaucracy, it depends on the company. Some are worse than others. And it's usually not as bad as people say it is. Think about all the bullshit you heard about WS before you got there. Chances are there's close to as much BS about F500s. Just have to find the right one for you.
Also, harvardgrad08 had a great corpdev thread here: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/the-other-road-corporate-development-ass…
I should also say that this is anecdotal. I'm not in corpfin, just have a lot of resources feeding me info.
Honestly, @"MidtownParkAve" I've been thinking about this question more and more myself. Evaluating what happens in detaching from the grind. Still want to make decent money in the next chapter but want to eliminate much of the stress. I don't have great answers for you other than possibly taking a CFO or CFO-in-waiting role at a startup whose industry focus is something you are really passionate about. That or starting a venture of your own.
The grind gets almost unbearable at times so I understand the boredom on your end.
If you have a certain track record and a comfortable net worth already, why not become the boss ? Although it must be said that for a hedge fund start up you'll need $300 MM just to break even thanks to the increased compliance costs and the reduced fees, among others. http://www.cnbc.com/id/101257948
Most people do NOT have the money to start a hedge fund/PE firm after 7 years in the business.
@"rufiolove" yeah the grind sucks and I also want to get out of NYC before I get trapped here. I think most transplants have this idea that they're gonna come here, really build a foundation for their careers, and then sail into the sunset somewhere else in the country. Except that last part is hard when you realize what most Americans make and that your skill set has largely trapped you in a city where you may make decent relative income but probably have equal to poorer after tax margins.
@"BatMasterson" I certainly do not have the liquidity to start any kind of a fund of my own. Again, I make decent money relative to most Americans but have been working for only 7 years and pretty sure I'm below the average Manhattan income level.
an option is to go work for a commercial bank. Super chill hours and pretty good money. If you have LBO or credit experience it could be a good fit. Also you can live in a super low COL place and become a credit officer or something.
Yeah that's one of the 2 options that came to my mind actually... Either corp fin at a F500 or doing ABL lending (or CF lending if they have it) at a regional bank, the latter sounds quite boring but at least it's finance related. Any other ideas out there? What about IR for a F500 or like working at like a university endowment or state govt retirement fund (typically the largest LPs for PE firms)? What kind of background do these jobs typically look for?
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