Private Equity Doubts / Pivot
I'm a 2nd year associate and beginning to have serious doubts about my career and curious what veterans and others in the industry think. For context, I have an STEM background and did not join finance / investing initially for the money - I could've made equivalent or better in a STEM career - I just had a strong interest in fundamental-oriented investing that began in college from reading about investing and researching companies. This passion has significantly waned / gone away over my time in IB / PE.
1. I find it hard to believe in the general approach to private investing. As private investing across all stages has become incredibly saturated, it feels like there is little real differentiation in diligence, sourcing, or information flow - evidence I've seen feels more one-time versus some systematic edge or differentiation.
Without some systematic differentiation, most reasonably intelligent firms bidding on the same asset appear to come to the same conclusions on business quality evaluation and win on ability / willingness to pay rather than some interesting angle / insight. I have friends at 'competing' firms and I chat with them about deals we look at, and it seems everyone has generally similar / consensus views.
This also feels validated by an industry-wide high regression to the mean (returns-wise) seen across different funds / firms. Welcome any counter-arguments here. This isn't to say that the people in the industry aren't bright or intelligent, but rather that due to the massive influx of capital in buyout, minority, debt, VC, etc.
2. I feel increasingly that I am working purely just for the money and nothing else. I don't feel much enjoyment from the day-to-day work. I don't despise it, but it more often than not feels unfulfilling - partially driven by the reasons listed above. I don't believe in what I'm doing and have yet to find convincing examples of others driving meaningful systematic differentiation in thought / process.
3. I do miss the highly technical nature of my engineering studies and schooling. I miss the passion I had for subjects in school and investing - I've debated going back for a masters and pivoting out of finance entirely (or even going quant), but it feels like a waste of the past 3-4 years and it is a frankly stupid financial decision from both an opportuntiy and real cost perspective. Furthermore, tech and STEM careers the market is bad and will likely get worse before better.
I'm curious if other feels the same / how they cope with it? For someone who isn't as passionate about investing anymore, is there a future for me in this industry - given the long hours and time it takes?
It does feel like a Catch-22, because pivoting requires immense risk, yet there appears to be a similar risk in inaction and staying in PE? Open to any and all suggestions, criticisms of my thoughts, and doubts :)
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some insights and suggestions for your situation:
General Approach to Private Investing:
Working for Money vs. Passion:
Missing Technical Nature of STEM:
Coping with Doubts and Future in the Industry:
Risk of Pivoting vs. Inaction:
For more detailed discussions and personal experiences, you might find the following threads on WSO helpful: - https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/private-equity/handling-stress-bu…</a">Handling Stress / Burnout in Private Equity - https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/private-equity/for-seniors-who-ha…</a">For seniors who have spent your career in private equity, do you regret it?
These threads provide insights from professionals who have navigated similar challenges and can offer valuable perspectives.
Sources: Handling Stress / Burnout in Private Equity, For seniors who have spent your career in private equity, do you regret it?, For seniors who have spent your career in private equity, do you regret it?, Handling Stress / Burnout in Private Equity, Q&A: Retired After a Career in Private Equity
“Pivoting requires immense risk”, wut? Lol, you just need to walk out the front door and do something in STEM.
what do you do when youre 10+ years in, carry is worth nothing and youre dissatisfied? Now thats the real risk
I think the risk, I'm speaking to here is that I end up spending money and time in a masters in STEM - only to find that I have spent a ton of money and time with no job or a underwhelming job to show for it.
If that’s the level of risk you’re uncomfortable taking then how are you ever going to be successful? That isn’t a risk, you’re young man
Get into a STEM PhD program. You’ll be giving up the opportunity cost of staying in finance, but you’ll get paid to get a PhD and won’t have to go into any debt (like you would with a masters). Coming out of a PhD program you can pivot into a quant role, stay in an intellectually stimulating academic environment, or get a STEM industry job.
Explore public markets investing / HF
I don’t know you, but feel 100% the same as you, down to your background. Would be great to chat.
If you want feel free to reply with your account and I can DM to chat more if you think it'd be helpful. Just trying to avoid doxxing myself as my account has some details.
Sure thing -- you can message me here
bigger risk is to not take any risks.
PE isn't even the best risk adjusted career... even now with your YOE. openAI can pay substantially more.
🤫🤫🤫
im in the same boat. feel free to dm if you want to chat.
Im gonna go against the grain here and say that you’re heavily experiencing grass is green syndrome. Not that your conclusion is wrong, but you could benefit from taking a step back and thinking through exactly what it is, specifically, you’re missing.
I did STEM stuff in high school and college, hell I was debating between finance and CS, so I get it and sometimes fantasized about what if I did coding inatead. But let’s be honest, we look back at the “passions” we had in college because we chose to do them, and we didn’t do them as jobs. Once you start doing something to support your livelihood, many parts of it become pain in the ass, and you can’t simply choose not to deal with annoying ass parts of the job. I think very few people truly enjoy their job to the extent that they would 10/10 times choose to do that profession without consideration to money.
my point being, sure pivoting to STEM sounds like a fantasy, because right now it is a fantasy. Would talk to more of your friends and make a matrix of pros and cons of your current job, and the actual realistic pros and cons of whatever other path you’re evaluating with real data points of people who actually went down that path.
probably a cynical view, but I personally don’t think any job is gonna make me happy, so I’m optimizing for finding the thing that offers me more of the things I like to do, fewer things that make me depressed, and time to enjoy my life outside of work, because I know that “work” will never give me that fulfillment.
and if you do tech, you can work anywhere from 0-40 hours a week while getting comparable pay.... which would also give you more time outside of work
If you're considering exploring new directions or finding a more meaningful approach to your work, it might be worth having a discussion with specialists like those at Oberheiden P.C., a renowned law firm specializing in securities law. What do you think?
Their team of legal experts can provide valuable insights into how you could structure or explore alternative opportunities, whether it’s private placements, strategic partnerships, or other avenues to leverage your accumulated experience. Moreover, such a discussion could help you identify new ways to differentiate yourself or navigate the legal and financial complexities that might impact your future decisions.
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