IB or PE has easier upward mobility? Compensation?

For now, my end goal is to enter corporate dev because I realize I want to work better hours in the future.

I'm deciding on whether I should go into PE after doing 2 years of IB. I thought PE was the end-all of the world of finance and you pretty much stay there for the rest of your career, until I found out that the majority of associates are let go after 2 years. From then on, most go get their MBAs and try to get back into PE. But even then, promotions to VP are super difficult. Plus, the benefit of working shorter hours is marginal and makes little difference (will be working at a MM firm that supposedly has better hours than BBs/EBs). For now, I don't have any genuine interest in PE; I find investing okay, but learning about an industry and strategy is far more interesting.

If I can handle the work in IB, I hope to become an associate, then perhaps VP before working in corp dev. I have no intention of going back to school for my MBA.

I don't know if everything I'm saying is correct. From an upward mobility perspective, is it easier to become a VP in IB or PE? How do the chances compare to each other?

A more controversial question: If staying in IB provides better upward mobility toward VP than an PE associate, does that mean that, compensation-wise, IB pays better than PE up to VP? This is because although PE VPs get paid more, fewer VP spots exist.