Is PE really worth it?
Hi all,
so I just had one of those long discussions with a colleague i'm very close to about "life" (you know those kind of discussions), and just started thinking about my life in the next couple of years and on the long term.. I'm in that moment in my life where EVERYONE is trying to get the **** out of Investment Banking, ideally targeting PE positions but VC and Management Consulting are also on the top of everyone's minds, so was wondering if I could a bit of feedback from your experience and how you see things now after taking a step back and having some perspective ..
Is PE really THAT great after all?
Do you enjoy your life now more than before? do you find the job more rewarding/challenging/interesting?
Seems that most PE firms only ask you to hang out for 2 years then it's "we think you should pursue another move in your life" whether it's an MBA or another job, how do you see this?
Do you regret making the career change? from IB to PE?
What would you have done differently and what would have you done exactly the same?
Thanks in advance for your feedback, it's truly appreciated.
interested to know as well.
I am actually making the transition from management consulting to private equity soon, so perhaps I can shed some light on the consulting angle.
Consulting is a fantastic job, especially if you're doing it right out of undergrad. It's (relatively) intellectually stimulating and demanding from the sense that you will see a lot of different client problems in a lot of different industries. One day, you could be doing a growth strategy project for a large healthcare company; the next day, you could be doing a reorganization for a struggling CPG client. No two days are alike and I'm constantly pushed to be more thoughtful, organized, and thorough in my analyses.
The flip side is that consulting, like banking, is ultimately a professional services business. There are people who love the job and stick around to make partner; others, like me, want to try something else. What you do get out of consulting is a general business skillset - strategy, operations, etc. - that can make you a better manager by virtue of having a well-rounded view of business management. I don't know how to crank out of DCF/lbo models like bankers (yet), run analytics like a data scientist, or optimize a supply chain like a career operations guy, but what I do know is how to think through different and unrelated issues and come up with ways to solve them.
The grass is always greener on the other side and there's a very high probability that I'll burn out of PE after my associate program. I recognize that and told the firm that I'm going to as much - that PE is a stepping stone for me to learn finance and portfolio company management at a high level before deciding what I want to do next.
Not sure if that answered your question entirely, but hope it gave a good overview of the consulting angle.
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