What’s “the path” now?
From what I understand - and my view is skewed bc 1) our bank pays better than most and 2) I’m a silly billy who knows nothing
IB: long hours, less “stimulating”, but better pay/benefits (paid paternity leave), better mobility (promote, lateral, etc.), transferable skills only to other employee jobs (I’ll never be a bank, but I can work for a bank/corp dev/PE)
PE: no longer the “golden goose” (top-heavy, no promotions, hard to lateral, carry doesn’t exist), more “stimulating” (IB = sales, PE = investor/operator), potential exits to HF, pseudo - transferable skills (entrepreneur )
HF: only real potential to get “rich”, usually better hours, transferable skill set (investing in equities), could lose your job any day - but garden leave is dope and you prob made enough to be fine anyway
I hear great things about PE from buddies who are in it and even better things about HF from guys there as well.
Other than those select few - everyone else makes it sound a little grim.
Curious your thoughts. Make peace not war in the comments - namaste.
People say “do what you enjoy” which is fair but we all know if you’re going to move IB > PE you have to decide early on before you have a chance to “know” what you enjoy.
Been contemplating the same thing a lot lately. Kinda sucks that in this industry you don't really have much time to deliberate before being forced to make a decision down a particular path.
Good news is: we’re not working at NW Mutual
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
"
This made my eye organs wet.
Make a bag and then buy a goose farm?
Stop being risk-averse nerds and do what you actually find interesting. The fundamental jobs of IB/PE/HF/Corporate are so different at the senior level that the people who are good at them have completely different temperaments and interests. You'll make the most money doing whatever you're genuinely good at and enjoy enough to keep working hard. That's it. That's the path. The people good at long-term private markets investing, advising on transactions, investing in public markets, or running large finance organizations all get paid very well. Pick the one that suits you, not the one you think has the highest theoretical ceiling. There's no guarantee you'll even reach it.
Everyone else in finance is overthinking it because they hate their jobs and want to convince themselves it'll get better at the next promotion. It won't. You either like the work or you don't, and you should find a job you might enjoy. That said, 2+2 makes sense if, and this is a major if, you broadly like finance and transactions but haven't figured out if it's IB/PE/HF/Corp Dev. PE teaches you how to think like a long-term asset buyer and actually evaluate businesses, not just sell services, which remains a helpful way of thinking across all of these career paths. Plus, if you end up hating PE you have way more options in terms of where to go next than if you stay in banking and realize you hate it.
Et praesentium dolorem saepe exercitationem qui autem. Qui iusto voluptatem eius excepturi sunt quis. Quam molestiae alias nobis harum numquam. Id enim quo voluptate iusto.
Necessitatibus sint quis aliquam non dolores sit. Accusantium tempora aliquam eius dicta ex. Voluptas iusto provident aut optio necessitatibus ut assumenda. Aut asperiores vel esse.
Consectetur libero et voluptatem rerum. Numquam dignissimos cum vitae consequatur cum. Voluptate suscipit esse saepe enim at laudantium sit voluptas.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...