Cush 25hr Corp Dev job or jump to PE?
Currently a 2nd year Associate on the CD team at a mega cap, healthcare company. I only work ~20-30 hours per week.
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Understand the rationale, although you might regret the almost tripling in hours. What’s your TC now?
$140k-150k TC. Living in a secondary/tertiary geography.
Maybe instead of doordashing, try some continuous-improvement hobbies. Could be anything like sports, arts, learning a musical instrument, martial arts. This will give you fulfillment outside of work. Gotta try multiple things to know which you enjoy.
Once you try a variety of things and still feel like you need to work like a dog to obtain any fulfillment in life then by all means.
But, I have seen many people enjoy something and find some way to make a secondary income stream through their hobbies.
Simply, “work to live, don’t live to work”. You don’t have to feel guilty just cause your girl is working heavy. It is okay to enjoy life sometimes.
I totally agree. I didn’t mention that I play golf and ride MTB on my lunch break and in the afternoons some days. Nevertheless, you’re right that I should consider changing my view of work.
Don't understand what it is about the corp dev people thinking they can seamlessly transfer over to PE when there's a huge backlog of direct-PE lateral / IB to PE / PC to PE people, who headhunters without a doubt prioritize over a corp dev...no offense..
I get it I get it, you do M&A...but you need to understand it's not just about that. funds want pedigree also, a GS/MS/Any HC PE or PE for that matter is many times more sought after over a corporate/f500...it speaks to the caliber of investment professionals, LP network, source of deal flow, etc. if you hire from the key traditional paths successfully. As I type this, 3+ of my friends are finishing up their 2/3 year and out programs at funds (think KKR/New Mountain/TA etc.), have multiple closed investments, and are soon to be or currently in recruiting...I'll let you answer this one but do you really believe PE funds (healthcare or not) will de-prioritize their candidacy over yours? Not sure if you're aware but plenty PE funds don't care as much about sector at the pre-VP level sometimes up to Director even..
that isn't to say you have no shot, but again, good luck trying to break in ahead of these groups.
I’ve worked with enough BB “talent” to know I shouldn’t be intimidated by it. I’ve seen the same “caliber of investment professionals” in public accounting and outside council. I highly doubt “LP network, source of deal flow, etc.” yield any fruit at the junior level. Thanks for the good luck if you think that’s all I’ve got!!!!
I’m clearly disadvantaged in recruiting, and I’m asking about what to do in light/spite of that. Maybe you and your 3+ friends can figure that out.
please point out where in your post you mention you are disadvantaged...don't deflect your false sense of confidence of trying to be / break into PE..
1. I meant no offense, yet you took it as such, as expected from a Corp Dev
2. You're looking at it the wrong way, fyi caliber isn't always about financial modeling etc. Simple pedigree of prior firm / network / connections / being liked etc. will be many times more valuable
3. 90% of the time the BB talent you work with (in Corp Dev) are the ones that burnt out of IB or just weren't cut out for PE/IB life, as such you are working with the bottom quartile of BB analysts whereas PE takes the top quartile of BB/IB analysts, totally different playing field
What are your actual hours? how do u manage to door dash if its somewhat of an on call job?
do you doordash with a car?
2-3 hours in the morning. Maybe another 2 hours in the afternoon. I don’t go far from the house. Maybe an hour at a time before I head home. Recently, I’ve spent a lot of time on diligence recap calls. The whole team gets less busy as deals mature.
So you’re averaging 5 hours a day and no weekend work? Honestly I think a transition to full force PE would be rough. If you leave at all, find a chill LMM healthcare fund or family office. Something around 40-60h just to get back to a ‘normal’ level. Not doubting your skills but immediately ramping up to 80-90 hours would probably make you suck at your job.
I’m working ~50-60 hours at a smaller fund earning about the same money as you but in a more expensive city. I think you have a fantastic setup but you’re effectively retired. I know I’d be bored if I worked any less than I do, and I work the least of any of my friends. It’s just the nature of my shop we have pretty high deal flow and the team is efficient with memos and modeling. I came from a sweaty bank though so I’m loving the chill hours. Log off between 7-9pm most nights instead of 2-3am. If I logged off at 2pm or only had 5 hours of shit to do every day I’d get concerned.
Thanks for the comment. One year from now my wife will match for fellowship, and we’ll move somewhere random—think Denver, Salt Lake City, Omaha, or Cleveland. Uncertainty around geography makes it difficult for me to plan my next steps (granted—the fellowship is only a year, and I look forward to the temporary move). I doubt it, but is remote work in LMM PE a thing? Maybe I should entertain the remote CD roles at PE-backed firms in my LinkedIn inbox. Sincerely seeking advice. Thanks.
do you know the qualifications needed for those remote jobs??
I don’t know how it is at every fund, but I would be surprised if anyone is working remotely full time. We are on 4 days a week, Friday WFH. Seniors partner have more flexibility and work from wherever they want, but the junior team is all in office most of the time. Don’t see how you could get anything done otherwise. The ad-hoc meetings after calls are important for the investment process. You can do it over zoom but it’s just another layer of friction. We are fewer than ten people though so it makes sense to all meet and discuss.
bro what lead you to this job? A prior role in IB? This is my dream job, so please lmk
A college connection from my current firm reached out to me when I was at a small RE firm. Then, a coffee chat with a manager before a formal model test and interview. Started with an all ex-IB analyst class. It’s a very supporting culture. Not cut-throat or zero-sum promotion. My area of healthcare is counter cyclical and remains acquisitive post-ZIRP. I’d look for PE roll-ups with growing teams. They will pay more than publics but have higher churn and generally worse culture.
OP, our backgrounds are somewhat similar. I am married to a physician and have ten years of M&A experience (two IB, eight corp dev).
I would start off with looking at what your wife wants to do post-residency. Will she be working wherever you currently live? Will she need to go to a fellowship? Your wife's career path is your limiting factor. Unless you live in a place like NY or LA, there is a probability greater than zero that you will have to move once your wife is done with residency.
As far as your career goes, as others have mentioned, I think that you will face an uphill battle trying to get into PE. That is just based off of personal experience and what I have seen from others. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try, but that is just that.
I think that you're wasting your time DoorDashing or trying to find other employment to fill your free time. The marginal utility of every dollar earned from DoorDash, especially given your tax bracket, is probably close to zero. Your time is also worth a lot more. I would instead spend a day planning out where you want to be in 5, 10, whatever years. Be intentional and go into detail. Where do you see yourself? What do you need to get there? Etc....Then, start working on where you are missing key skillsets to make that dream happen. Try to also think outside the box. Maybe corp dev is fine, but you really want to run a small business of some sort.
Get a library card. Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, most libraries participate in the interlibrary loan program where you can request books from pretty much any library in the US. Pick up some books on subjects that you either need to achieve your dreams or that interest you. Biographies are a great place to start (Walter Isaacson and Ron Chernow are two excellent biographers).
I have been in your shoes several times where I had corp dev jobs that require sub-30 hours per week. It really bothered me because I was used to the IB way of "if you're not working 80 hours a week, you either suck at your job or are about to get canned." After a while, I learned that most jobs outside of IB are not like that. Your ROI will be much greater by finding ways to use your time to improve your skillset or add arrows to your proverbial quiver to help with whatever you want to accomplish in the future.
Thanks for the considered response. I’ve been doordashing because I felt guilty about my free time (not for the money). Either way, it’s a complete waste of my time. My free time is uncomfortable because it forces me to introspect about my career in a way I’ve clearly ignored. To wit, I don’t know what I want to be doing in 10 years. I’ll man up and figure it out. Will reply with my library card soon. Cheers.
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Ignore title - I was on the same boat working in CD for 2 years and got bored. Made a jump to IB now i regret it everyday and desperately trying to get out in this tough job market. Think hard before you make the move. If PE has a better progression then go for it. I am also recruiting for PE myself lol best of luck
IF you regret IB already won't PE be more or less the same?
Sounds like a nice setup. I’d be in the gym, traveling, spending time with family, going out on more dates. PE is nice but the lifestyle sucks.
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