Career Advice for someone who hates politics and typical PE progression paths

I like the job. I really hate working with certain people but I've also been across enough jobs / heard friends gripe about their work enough to know that it's always about that 1 or 2 difficult people.

I'm beginning to feel like this industry is not for me, ironically on things that really aren't related to being an investor. I've been okay at picking up a pretty diverse range of industries, and probably pretty good at reading deal dynamics and strategy. I read office politics fairly well but I don't like to play them and generally don't, even if it benefits me to do so.

I also never cared too much about prestige though I care alot about decent pay and WLB. My favourite part of the job is figuring out new insights / thinking about ways that a deal could be structured for more value. Which is why I joined PE in the first place.

My least favourite part is dealing with the obligatory insecure VP / Principal (there's always at least one at every office) who is aware that the juniors know he isn't as good as he should be and is extra small dick energy instead of nice to compensate for that.

Should I leave? I don't know what other industries could offer exposure to a broad range of experiences and companies. Was thinking in-house M&A but most corporates in my region are nepotism run conglomerates.

I'm decently bright but easily distracted and also not a genius, so I won't be starting the next Facebook or Tiktok.

Region
 

Et et debitis molestias molestiae quae. Nihil iste aliquam voluptate necessitatibus.

Ipsam incidunt rerum autem. Culpa tenetur et atque iste. Veniam aspernatur mollitia quos possimus consectetur fuga asperiores. Minima itaque illo sed inventore magnam.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 99.0%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.4%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.4%
  • Ardian 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Bain Capital 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • Warburg Pincus 97.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (22) $569
  • Vice President (92) $362
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (91) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (206) $266
  • 1st Year Associate (387) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (29) $154
  • 2nd Year Analyst (83) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (246) $122
  • Intern/Summer Associate (32) $82
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (314) $59
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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
numi's picture
numi
98.8
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”