I know it’s an absolute grind as a junior (worse than banking potentially) but does anybody have a sense for what lifestyle is like at the more senior post-MBA level? I know it’ll never be a chill job but wondering how the hours change of you aren’t owning the modeling etc.
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Better but still pretty bad. Hours themselves are better, but it's more stressful. Still get the cancelled weekend plans on live deals. For many its also a time in your personal life where that is more painful. But as with anything in this game it will vary by firm and the point when it gets better (principal or partner) probably varies too.
VP level can arguably be just as many hours - with more travel heaped on top of that (board meetings, marketing/sourcing, LP meetings). Sure, you're not in a model at 3am, but if something happens at a portco over the weekend, you're the front line and the partners will expect you to be all over that shit regardless.
Put it this way, there are very few firms where the associates get absolutely slaughtered and the VPs have it chill.
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