Private credit more prestigious than private equity??

they're just coping.

what's more prestigious is performing well at any seat

I’m in credit and think the equity story is more interesting, but after looking at some of the sponsor models the juniors slave on, wasn’t something I’d like to do. Credit is very volume based, get an opportunity, structure the deal, make a memo, pitch to risk officers/IC…on to the next one. To each their own, prestige is irrelevant and slowly fades as you get older. Looking back, the pursuit of prestige was silly. 

It’s probably better for WLB and can be better for comp at the junior levels, I think some typical LBO lenders comp pretty well relative to similarly competitive PE jobs. I do think PE provides more optionality and is the stronger resume builder, and also the better learning opportunity. I also think it is still viewed as more prestigious.

However, the best learning opportunity is not necessarily the best career. I think PC is pretty sweet though I have never done it. I’m sure there are parts of the job I wouldn’t like. But it seems more peaceful to focus on volume and cash flow than a million bespoke analyses and operating considerations, and it over the next 30 years it does seem like PE might return something not far off from structured capital but with substantially more risk. It seems like less of a strain to say “that seems like bullshit” than to say “but is there any bullshit that smells pretty good?”

An oversimplification for sure

Credit is very broad space. If you include asset backed finance and special situations, they are more complicated than plain vanilla PE...

I’d rather work at a good PC firm with a good WLB and interesting work over a PE firm like Apollo which is well known sucks ass to work at. If you are making $200k+ as a junior, an additional $50-100k more to hate your life and work with snakes is not worth it

Prestige, at least in this specific way, is not really a thing. It is very much a faux concept. As anonasdasczx pointed out, the thing that really matters is performing well. 

Milken started at Drexel which was a mid ass bank at the time whose only relevance was that it can trace itself back to what was then actually important banks (BBH and Drexel Morgan aka a part of the JP Morgan empire). He then turned this washed-up has-been of a bank, with the help of Tubby and Fred Joseph, into the most profitable bank on the Street. 

Sidney Weinberg joined Goldman in 1907. Goldman was not the powerhouse that it is today. It was very much a bank who had one success of any note (the Sears IPO). He went from joining a bank that did one thing of relevance to becoming one of the most important bankers at one of the most important American banks. 

Kohlberg, Kravis, and Roberts all decided to leave an incredibly prestigious partnership at Bear Stearns to start doing their own bootstrap acquisitions. Now KKR is far more prestigious than a company that no longer exists. 

The point being, prestige in terms of PC being a better seat or PE being a better seat or IB being a better seat is just nonsense. There is a reason why these conversations really only exist at the university level. Sure, there is still dick measuring when you actual get into the job, but this fetishization of "prestige", as it manifests in this type of way, is utterly meaningless. It is a think college kids do because they don't know better.

no, but anyway, why would you even give a fuck what is more prestigious. Answer me what you would be better at: PE or PC, and based on ur answer choose (and if you tell me you can do both, I'm calling it complete BS - different general perspectives extremely tied to your personality/character will influence your attitude towards your work which could make it easier to excel in one field relative to another).

congrats on private credit