Can I find a 50-60 hour pw GE job with high certainty?
Yo, I'd greatly appreciate if those with first or second-hand knowledge of growth equity WLB could chime in here
Tech investing will definitely be my next step, but I'm quite burned out and really want to avoid a job where I don't reliably have a couple of hours to myself every day outside of just getting ready / winding down from work. Early stage Vc is top prio, but it hurts to think of how much of a pay cut I'm taking when GE seems like it can sometimes offer a great combo of interesting stuff / WLB / comp. I feel like the things that plague assocs at GE firms outside of deal sprints should be pretty similar ex the sourcing portion for those that don't do it, but clearly the hours vary widely so I want to know (ideally about GE shops that source, but also would like to hear the same about late-stage VC shops):
- Does the perfect 8-8 job even exist and where could I find it?
- What % of your time is spent in deal-sprint mode (weeks per quarter, with best / worst ranges)
- Does your fund have a "clock-off" time and how often do you work passed it, and what creates that work?
- Given the advantage is always held by the fund that can synthesize data the fastest, why aren't assocs. always in deal mode since they have opps crossing the desk all the time? When does the "deal sprint" gun go off and does this differ by firms?
- For proprietary opps, is it once the company agrees they are interested?
- For auctions, is it always?
- Even though I imagine you can have completely different experiences working with one partner or another at any given firm, my naïve POV makes it seem things are generally standardized across firms (ex. GA bad, JMI good) so is this is a cultural or operational thing I can look out for (ie. no portco work, jr. investors / deal closed although I feel this KPI is way too lumpy to be of use)
- How did you diligence your firm for WLB?
- Please name drop any funds you know first-hand are particularly good or bad
I hear all these things about ICONIQ, IVP, even NEA having terrible WLB even though they are doing plenty of venture rounds that should lend themselves to the best WLB…this just makes me think what I'm looking for is impossible to find with any level of certainty, but it would be great if someone could prove me wrong that finding a 50-60 hour pw GE job isn't just a lucky outcome
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some insights regarding work/life balance (WLB) in growth equity (GE) and late-stage venture capital (VC) roles:
50-60 Hour Work Week in GE:
Deal Sprint Mode:
Clock-Off Time:
Synthesis of Data:
Diligence for WLB:
Name-Dropping Funds:
In summary, finding a 50-60 hour per week GE job with high certainty can be challenging but not impossible. It requires diligent research and networking to identify firms with a culture that supports better WLB.
Sources: 60+ Hours/Week: Outlier or a New Normal?, Extremely Robust Growth Projected - 132 hour work week, Private Equity shops with the best work/life balance, Unpredictability of PE is Killing Me, Define “good” WLB
Following, in a similar boat (ignore Title)
Would you consider a pension fund or SWF?
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