What motivates you to work in private equity/finance?

What motivates you to work in private equity/finance?

Personally, I just want to buy one nice house and support my future family. That and understand businesses and make career related connections. PE is unlike other fields such as venture capital, where my motivation might be to discover something profound, or maybe become extremely wealthy after an investment. It's not like being a researcher where I would discover something cool that advances humanity. 

21 Comments
 

why would she even know what a BB is? for me, i would think it's weird if someone not in my field knows which companies are prestigious when it's not something most normal people would know.

 
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Sure, but two caveats so might not be super relevant: 1) I switched jobs to a new fund roughly double the size after y3 and 2) I'm technically a senior associate/junior vp (equivalent to AS4 instead of 3) about to be promoted. I was promoted to senior associate at my first firm for y3 which is why that raise was a bit more.

AS1-4 TC: $200, $220, $270, $375 (400 was rounded for effect...)

 

Maybe I’ve just been drinking the kool aid but wouldnt say money is main reason for me. In IB in industry group. Where else can a 22yr old get direct exposure and learn how experts make decisions in an industry im interested in? I think that’s pretty cool. Would I do the job if it didnt pay well? No. Do I like turning useless comments at 2am? Fuck no. But when I compare myself to my non-IB friends (working entry level corporate gigs in the same sector) I realize that despite all the BS work I am actually learning more about the sector than they are and I think the only way to be extremely successful is to be an expert in a sector, so I’m getting a head start in that sense.

 

I dream about the day when all my years of education, training and experience will make me spot a $200m profit idea (think NVDA/TSLA stock) and ball on it. 

incentives trumph ethics
 

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