Spent my career to-date on the proverbial track. Short stint in banking, last 8 in PE at large sponsor. Putting some thought into spending the rest of my career on this track given the time & personal sacrifice required to have staying power. I have a young & growing family and I'm not sure if the money is worth it (versus a mid-high 6 figure corporate job with real latitude). Based in a relatively LCOL city.
Would love to hear from others (mid-late 30's and up) who have been in this position before - at a reputable PE firm, making good cash comp, still several years away from meaningful carry payouts - and considered other paths in search of more sustainable lifestyle. What did you end up doing? Do you have any regrets? Do you have peers who have made different decisions & had different outcomes?
Hoping this reaches the right audience. Thanks in advance.
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Nothing to add but it may be helpful to share what level you’re at. Are you not already an experienced VP / Principal promote? Just trying to get a sense based on the age range you have
Terrible name, but you are asking an important question with yourself. I've started looking at careers in finance similarly to a professional sports career. There are athletes who stay on one team for 20 years, are able to keep up with the younger shift in the game (i.e. continuing to survive the grind in finance) and really not bat an eye when thinking about a career. But those types of athletes are literally unicorns, for every one of those there are hundreds of normal athletes who end up retiring from the game after a couple years and go on to do something else that better fits their needs. I think the same can be applied to finance. You survived the grind and were able to climb the ladder, but you're starting to realize that there are other things in life that you would like to focus on. My $.02 are look for something else and be proud that you A) were able to land a position in finance, and B) survived this long enough. I'd retire your jersey (business card) in the rafters (framed in your home).
I'll also say try your best to not think about regrets. You're going from one high paying job to another, there should be no regrets for choosing to be with your family rather than working for a job that would fire you in an instant. I'm a bit of a jealous person, and even though I work the job I always dreamed about I still am a bit jealous that people are still able to have good lives with it (reason I'm saying this is I'm planning on leaving in about a year after getting worked pretty hard) but I'll never have regrets. It was a grind to get to where you are, it was a grind to stay where you are. Be proud of your actions, a majority of people never get the chance to work in these fields in their lives.
How old are you and what carry do you have at work?
Outside of that, gut reaction is that you could relatively easily find a high-paying corporate role (maybe even remote), and even though it might seem like a large paycut, you'll still be able to get by fine in a LCOL city. Maybe work with your sponsor to become one of their portco executives they tap on (which may let you maintain your carry).
You should think about the value of time. Your kids will eventually leave home and that’ll be the end of largely most of the time you’ll have with them (look up stats on time spent with kids after age 18). You’ll eventually be old and not able to do all the things you wanted to do but deferred. Your wife is likely as young as you and probably wants to spend more time having fun with you. You may be healthy now, but unless you proactively start working out and setting yourself up for long term mobility and functional fitness, it won’t last past your early to mid 40s at the latest.
You are young, healthy, have money, and a family that loves you and will benefit more from your time and emotionally attention than the incremental dollars you earn. You fought the hard battle, now go enjoy the rewards you earned and savor these last few years of functional youth before they’re gone forever.
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