This is ideal living
Too many negative woe is me threads. In the last 4 years I’ve made 2.6m cash and have accrued 3m of carry on a fully deployed fund marked well above cost with average EBITDA up 30% organically (so not just bs multiple expansion).
Lifestyle is 50-55 hours per week off deal. 80-90 on deal. On deal 3/12 months.
3 days in office but only enforced for associates.
I take long weekend trips at my leisure and take about a month of vacation per year on top of typical long weekends thanksgiving etc.
Living in New York unmarried no liabilities with this comp is a cheat code to attract top tier women, plural.
Life could not be better. Stick with it guys.
Fuck yea. Incoming FT. Fired up to start
Lmao this site is too good. Drop the @ for these top tier women.
what to do if you are one but also in PE
True, but if you derive value from projecting ur a big boy with money to pick up chicks then ur intrinsically still just a beta nerd
Easy to say you don’t derive value from money when you grew up with a silver spoon in Darien, CT
put some respect on Darien - you'll catch up one day
If you derive your value from money, then boy you're in for a rude awakening
what do you derive value from?
I think it's fine if having money and women makes people happy. I think it's totally understandable.
The man said "attract" and not "bang" or "retain"
Amen, brother. This industry has changed my fortune for at least two generations to come. Banked enough cash to buy a nice house in a great suburb, and will snag a shore house in the next 5-10yrs. And I’m just a broke kid from a shitty city who managed to carve this out for myself - it truly boggles my mind when the westchester/fairfield kids on here who went to boarding schools / Ivys complain.
In this game, there are some great seats/situations to be in. For those who have found themselves in a bad one, I suggest you pound the pavement and gtfo and find something that works for you, because the answer isn’t going to come find you.
100% agree, grew up in the middle of nowhere and now am on track to help my parents retire 5-10 years early and everyday try to remind myself that I have been given the opportunity to change not just my own life but that of everyone I grew up loving as well (two brothers now in IB -> PE following me now too)
True that. Still remember this boarding school kid at my EB SA (which pays above market comp) droning on about how IB pay isn't actually a lot of money and it's not worth it (then what is lol). He didn't get return but it's just insane to me how people can have this perspective when I changed my parents life financially in my first year out of college.
This is bullshit to make sure his associates stay in line and keep bootlicking at the chance of promotion, so this poster’s life is easier not YOURS.
Why don’t you answer this. Of all PE associates who enter in every year, what % end up moving up to VP or better yet even ever see that carry?
If you want to make the argument that life is great in PE because you genuinely enjoy the workflow of transactions, investing, and gaining operational experience that is fine. What is NOT fine is citing is citing ridiculous comp and carry figures that you know most likely none of your associates will ever see and dangling that over them like a golden carrot to grovel and fight against one another for.
agreed
Brother I fear you're asking the right questions on the wrong post. 10% of all individuals who enter PE end up seeing any form of carry, yet this individual will probably not see how they are the outlier.
One datapoint, by me, 1-2 of 4 associates get promoted each year (into a carry-earning role). Timing for realization depends on timing of funds and exits (and vesting obviously).
I received my first carry grant at SA1 and first payout during VP1 (i.e., 4.5-5 years into PE).
I don’t have anything to add to this but just some thoughts that I’ve had as I’ve gone through the cycle of “IB/PE or bust” —> “fuck PE entirely I want out” —> “Live and let live” mentalities.
Everything is about expectations and opportunity cost vs. personal joy. I do think a lot of people I know who are VP or coming up on VP self select into it - they like what they do, don’t mind a bit of grind, and make a boatload of money. Lotta of them (incl myself before I left) had a bit of a chip on their shoulder and felt they could build generational wealth quickly in a pretty riskless way. When you graduate college and have only half your banking signing bonus as your only savings (which then goes to your apartment deposit), there’s literally nothing to complain about. You’ve really made it and you need to ride the train as long as you can.
But yeah VP age is where the path diverges - yes, I could make $500K cash + carry and work 60 hrs on average (ranging from 50-80 depending on deals). But I really dont need that. Growing up very middle class means that outside of some things, I still have middle class spending habits. All of which can be more than accomplished by a $250K 40-hr a week job that lets me chill, cook, work out, and enjoy loads of quality time, not bad for still being under 30.
Live your life to optimize what brings you joy. For some, it’s the financial freedom and fast-paced work in PE, grind-during-the-week chill on the weekends that VP+ can offer. For others, the incremental $$, although significant, is too much hassle than it’s worth.
Also everyone on WSO is mad depressed, tons of PE folks are perfectly content with their lives which is why they’re not on this forum to complain.
Not meant to be a trick question but more so because I want out, which roles were you referencing when you meant 250K 40-hours under 30 years old? Thanks
Corp Dev / Strat Fin / corporate strategy / some fp&a. Initially after PE you come in at 175-225K on average but if you perform well (which you have no excuse not to coming from PE) and get promoted to director / senior director level, 300K+ cash + equity by late 20s-30s should be expected.
Corp Dev, strategic finance, etc. if you want faster paced go earlier stage or to a sponsor-backed platform. Lots out there. It’s certainly not as “intellectually stimulating” but I don’t really find joy in any kind of work, to be honest either you.
yeah this is true, >$500K salary and avg 60hr a week, just that a lot of ppl on WSO are younger so they don't have friends at the VP+ levels
Liar.
Just to provide some balance:
Be a top quartile outcome: UMM/MF in Europe for 10+ years. $4.5m cumulative cash comp, accrued $7m of carry on paper. Bulk of carry is in underperforming 2019-2021 vintage, get dinged at Partner promo, retain about $4m worth of carry at accurate fund outturn with bulk paying out in >5 years only. Limited/no carry checks cashed so far.
Also let’s not forget the significant co-invest tied to the funds until kingdom come that you had to put in. You may be worth 5-10m on paper, but in practice almost none of it is liquid being either co-invest, carry points, or your house.
Bruh this is 100% the goal. Willing to grind an insane amount for a shot at this. Can you please PM me, want to ask a few questions. Extremely hungry to break in, and need some guidance for my specific situation.
Nice dude, you sound like a real fuck machine!
Seconding this. Haven't been this impressed in a while.
How big is the fund directionally ?
Not really a huge surprise. The problem with the PE route is that that outcomes and hours are variable. Really have seen careers go a lot of different ways after someone enters PE.
Glad that you're on the right tail of the outcomes distribution but it will not be the same for everyone who "sticks with it"
Hi OP, in the off chance you are not larping, I am a 5'10" size 2 mid-twenties woman with 0 debt who would like to quit working and stay at home. Being a career woman ain't it for me, I drank the koolaid by mistake in undergrad. I'm not emotionally needy at all, and all my colleagues work in high finance or consulting, so I'm very understanding of the live deal hours. DM me if you want to chat more.
This isn’t Tinder 😭
What do you like mo$t about OP?
His per$onality?
What does OP consider to be a top tier woman? Don’t hate the player hate the game
Delete - double post
Shit I would love this job as well if if they paid me 2x more and let me work 2/3 of the hours
Is PE like this? If not I'm gonna quit
This is far from the norm, I logged off at 3:30 last night.
If your team is hiring, would love to chat.. im currently a senior associate looking to lateral in NYC
What type of fund is the place you work at?
Also, what are the hours like usually between LMM, MM, UMM, and MF?
I have found the norm for VP life to be closer to 60h a week (8a-7p + some weekend stuff but usually not too much) minimum — but the mode is more like 70 hours which is still better than the associate mode of 90 hours
There are people that work less but frankly they are all getting fired or about to get fired because they just don’t do their job
Your positive outlook is so refreshing. Is it okay if I PM you? I have been shot down by members here and I’ve been trying to break in for nearly 10 years. I’ve even slept outside the KKR office and was willing to work for free. I’ve done it all. Would die to get a seat and here people are being so ungrateful for theirs.
Glad you're happy. I have to say though, "top tier" women are not the ones who only want you for the comp. Quite the opposite actually. Sorry you were led to believe that.
Ok thanks for your sage wisdom
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