For seniors who have spent your career in private equity, do you regret it?

Nice comp for A1! I'm a 3rd year VP so unfortunately not in the "senior" bucket but I'll say that my hours are significantly better now that I have some more seasoned Associates. On deal is still terrible but that's 3 months of the year 

Analyst 2 in IB-M&A

For industry veterans who have spent your career in private equity, do you regret it?

For context, I worked at a top bank, am currently a first year PE associate (ignore the title), and am making +/- $400k a year. 

The big caveat for me is that I'm older than most first year associates (30 y/o) as I went to college later than most.

I initially went down this career path to "make up for lost time" and save at a higher rate.

On that note, things have worked out (+$250k net worth after just 2 years in banking), but I find myself wondering if this is the path for me. 

I'm 30, still working 80-100 hour weeks, don't have a girlfriend or significant other, and other areas of my life are lacking too. On top of that, it doesn't really seem like the hours get much better as a VP. Realistically, if I spend 3-4 years as an associate and then perhaps another 4-5 years as a VP, I'm looking at 7-9 more years of comparable hours. At which point  I'd be 37-39 with other avenues of my life likely materially underdeveloped… 

Not expecting to necessarily hear from others that started private equity late as I know I'm on the road less traveled there, but am curious to hear from those that have made sacrifices in other parts of their life to pursue this for the long run. Do you have any regrets or advice? 
 

Do you mind PM’ing me? Starting similar path—will be an older A1 in banking and curious to hear about your experience jumping to PE.

interesting topic, do you feel that the grind may not be hypothetically worth it if you start late? or maybe you could trade down to a "chill culture shop" MM PE and ride out your VP+/director level there and maybe exit to portco. would you rather be developing your hobbies and other avenues of life at a 50% paycut? curious to hear your thoughts. 

I think you made enough and are doing quite well in your career.

As for other parts of your life, just start with downloading a dating app Lol. You still have time to date if you want. Or you can find someone who is similarly busy with you.

Analyst 2 in IB-M&A

and other areas of my life are lacking too.

for example?

Not senior by any means, but thinking in the same pathways as you are. Been months since I experienced a week of less than 80 hours. I am trapped in the idea that with the comp / prestige I have in my current role, doing anything else would be "throwing it away". I have worked so hard to get where I am and very few people get an opportunity like this. I am scared to throw it away.

On the other hand, I try to be rational and think about what is truly important to me in life. I want to be able to exercise, take care of my body, pursue my hobbies, develop myself, have a meaningful relationship with someone etc. That will never be possible when working 80-100 hours a week. The questions I ask myself are:

- "What can I do with $300k a year that I would not be able to do with $150k a year?

- "Is it really worth sacrificing everything else that is important to me in order to buy those things / save that money?"

Sure, I can save a lot more. But then the next question is what am I gonna do with those savings that is so important to me? Will buying a really nice house and a supercar when I'm 40 make up for the fact that I am alone and have had no life for the past 20 years? Most likely not.

I could also consume a lot more for $300k than I can for $150k. I can go to nicer restaurants, I can buy more expensive clothes, live in a nicer place, go on more expensive vacations etc. However, I feel that $150k is more than enough to buy everything I want. Of course, I could spend more on the same stuff to get a better quality, but I feel that the difference is quite marginal at this point and it's not worth that much to me. 

In summary, I believe that if you are going to sacrifice so much of your life for money, you need to have a very clear vision of exactly how that money will make it worth your sacrifices. Personally, I have come to the conclusion that $150k is more than enough for me to buy everything I want and have a good life while also allowing me to pursue other things that are important to me. Have spent a lot of time thinking about this and will make the move to switch industry soon. 

I think you are thinking about it a bit too binary. There are many middle paths like growth equity, credit, or corp exec where you will easily clear $400K (but maybe without the promise of $10M+ carry paydays way down the line) and have a high-intensity career trajectory without having to put in 80-100 hours.

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If starting a family matters to you at all (and it sounds like it does), you may very well regret it; remember, nobody ever dies on their deathbed wishing they made US$100M or regretting not making CEO at Blackstone, but they definitely might regret not spending enough time with their kids/loved ones etc.

Hours largely depends on the firm you're working for - MM PEs and Growth Equity shops shouldn't work you 80-100 hours a week and you can still get decent comp (but not at the same scale though)

"Toughing it out" until you get to VP might be a slippery slope because your opportunity cost of leaving keeps going up and eventually it might be too costly for you.

If your firm has an MBA and back policy (I do not recommend wasting $ to go get an MBA unless your firms sponsors you with a clearly written black and white offer - do NOT rely on verbal promises), you could do this for 2 years, and use that chance to pivot to another industry or firm that better suits your life goals. 

TLDR - life is more than making bank, you can still hit high 7 digits or 8 digits by pursuing something else that is less stressful / won't work you 100 hours a week.

I am helping several VP/principal level IPs leave their firms for opportunities that allow them to either work on themselves (alcoholism/drug problems, major mental health challenges) or live a more fulfilled life (find a partner, family time, rediscover hobbies, travel). Not a single one has regretted leaving behind the money. 

The entire industry is having a moment of clarity that carry checks are only going to be 20-50% of what they'd projected for themselves from the last few vintages (if they even hurdle at all). Very hard for mid-levels to swallow that the carry was never real at the calcs their partners pitched them on. In combination with the need to work on themselves, there's sufficient push and pull factors to get out. And there's immense demand for sharp people to jump into stressed (not distressed) portfolio companies and figure out a path to the gross 3x, so there are plenty $250-400K cash + $500K - $1.5M DAW opportunities to exit to in ops, finance and corp dev. 

I think about it as a flow back and forth between the benefits of being an IP vs. operator. From 2011 - 2021, being an IP was great. Low interest rates, high leverage, lots of hot potato of assets between firms, and big exits/carry checks. That's an environment that may be worth giving up your personal life for when there's generational money on the line. Not the case anymore.

And the operator world is definitely not perfect. With the single asset concentration vs. diversified PE model, you really have to do your diligence. Higher risk profile, lower quality people, nebulous exit timeline, unsexy work. It may not be for you at all. But I've gotten general consensus that being an operator > IP in this moment.

Someday there will be a flip back to IPs > operators. For now, the world's better on the operator side. 

Either have a significant other or get some bitches. Anyone who says otherwise is compensating their lack of sex with their career.

Obviously if you’re building your own company like an Elon Musk, it makes sense to devote your life to it and can focus on relationships later but let’s be real here, high finance (even the worshipped MDs) doesn’t pay nearly enough to go celibate💀

It’s fine. A good risk adjusted living. Interesting enough to keep you engaged. Enough of a shine to make you feel important at times. 
 

But not a super inspired track. Will also depend on your life choices/priorities along the way. Have seen tons of people who have sacrificed relationships, time with kids, etc for the job.

Keep it all in perspective. Work hard when you’re young. Work smart when you’re a VP to open up room for relationships and settle down. As a senior person, don’t take yourself too seriously. Spend time with your wife/kids, do bathtime/bedtimes with your kids, go to parents nights and other (semi)important engagements, etc. Do that and you’ll be fine. Be a work above all else hardo and you’ll end up in a sad state and will need to continue to double down on work to make you feel like everything you squandered while on that pursuit was a worthless sacrifice.

The hardest part about MF PE is 1- getting in; 2- managing the politics as you get increasingly senior/higher earning.

Spent more than 15 years in PE, had good carry allocations across three vintages, coasted for the last 2-3 years, never need to work again at 42 and have a happy family life. It’s great, would recommend.

My dad spent his career in PE, he loves it. Plenty of cash, good wlb in senior level ( he works usually 9-7, 3-4 hours on weekend ) His carry is magnificent. He said his favorite part is being surrounded by high-achieving leaders. My friend said he wants to exchange dad with me lol

the only part he doesn’t like is the days of grinding when he was young. He didn’t have time for dating and friends etc. But it was all worth it, he later had plenty of cash and prestige to find good women.

The PE vs HF debate seems to be a grass is greener perception thing. Hop over to the HF forum and you’ll find many people complaining about the of lack transferable skills they’ve acquired in addition to the stressful and unrelenting hours. It seems many pros in their 30s at HFs regret the path and envy their PE counterparts. People tend to look at the top 10% performer and put themselves in their shoes, but reality for the average HF employee does not seem that enviable.

There is no fool proof right answer. Get yourself debt-free, acquire some hard skills, and then prioritize yourself and figure out what you actually like doing and value in life. Money is empty so don’t spend your life chasing it at the expense of the things that matter like relationships. Work hard doing something that you genuinely enjoy and money will follow (or maybe it won’t and that’s ok too because the ride will have been more fun and interesting). Despite today’s Instagram culture of trying to outdo the Jonses, people aren’t actually watching nor care (aside from a nanoscopic superficial minority who are clowns anyways), so strive for balance. I think these are the values that many people in their 30s begin to embrace. My sense is it’s often the extremely risk averse and insecure people who stick around to climb the corporate ladder in these career paths, laden with an overleveraged lifestyle and stuck on the hamster wheel. It seems you’ve already made up for the lost time and acquired some hard skills along the way, so don’t get duped into losing more time. My advice is get off the wheel.