Minority Male....Stay are Large Life Co?
I'm a minority and it seems like there's a big push for public companies / life companies on the diversity side. Most of our recent hires have been female and/or minorities. It also seems like there's a lot of "stretch" promotions for these groups (double points if you're a minority female).
I'm a minority male. The pay at my life company is decent, good, not great. I have an offer to jump ship to a smaller REPE shop, pay is about 30% to 40% higher. It's mostly "old white guys", which I think I'm OK with, but feel more comfortable at my current shop. I don't think I'll ever fit into the "old boys club" with my background (grew up poor), but I can get along just fine.
I know it's a sore subject for a lot of the white males out there, but hey, you got to use every advantage you get in this life right?
Should I ride the diversity wave at my current company or chase riches at the REPE shop?
The diversity wave isn’t going anywhere if you leave your company. So if working for the old white guys is genuinely better experience you should go for it.
If you feel yourself stagnating, make your way back to the large / corporate company that prioritizes diversity
I have a similar background to you (URM male, poor background). I jumped from a smaller REPE shop to a larger one. I don’t regret the move bc I’m learning way more and seeing great deal flow, but I work a fair amount of weekends now. I would definitely take job function and lifestyle into account here. The ppl I work with now are fine but I definitely miss some of my old coworkers.
It sounds like you have a great thing going at the LifeCo and you should be able to move up the ladder relatively quickly. If you make a jump, make one to a shop that values diversity. You can only tolerate so much of good ol boys
Ah - interesting situation. Listen bro, from my experience (minority male as well), the race gap is always there and hard to fill, doesn't matter how good/diverse the firm culture is. At the end of the day, it's all about the money and your employment contract. The "riches" you mentioned, at least within the buyside world, comes from carry. If this 30-40% bump is cash comp bump, I'd be wary to make the jump. Lifeco don't pay as well as the private equity guys, but if you bitch and whine for a higher pay, they'd likely provide it to keep you around.
I'd make sure if you go hang out with the the old white boys, that they give you a decent piece of the pie. That's all it is, money talks. I don't give a shit if these white guys are cultural and eat Pho everyday for breakfast. Let me see a piece of that promote/carry then we can talk. Don't fall for that "hey, here's a good asian guy who works really hard and never complain, let's hire him as an associate so he does all the work for a couple years before we spit him out" trap. Make sure the carry/promote terms are all laid out legally and is black-and-white. I wouldn't make the jump just for a bump in cash comp, is all I'm saying. I'm sure you can push the lifeco to get you close to their offer, then hang back and look for another REPE opportunity down the road that does provide you that carry. These old white guys are almost always greedy as fuck (from my experience, and I don't blame them, I'd be greedy too if I were old and rich) and usually keep all the good stuff to themselves - so just be careful.
PM me.
You’re gonna feel left out but if the money is all you care about then it’s a no brainer
Chances are they won’t look out for you and you will never truly fit in but you can always leave for a new shop or maintain relationships with your managers / bosses at lifeco and go back when you want to
Generally the diversity wave will help you get in the door but it's not necessarily the case that it will help you with promotions etc. I would do whatever experience you think you'll learn the most from and is able to get you to where you want to be in 10 years.
Funny how its harder to break into banking/tech/real estate as an unconnected / poor white kid than as someone who can identify as a URM. What a world.
Funny how it's harder to get into an Ivy League university as an Asian American (SAT score average stats) than it is as a person of any other race...
Then go to a Asian Ivy
What is your pay currently?
If the REPE shop is offering carry and you have any risk tolerance whatsoever, no-brainer - jump ship. Doesn't matter whatsoever that it's a bunch of old white guys - those old white guys think highly enough of you to offer you 30-40% over what you're making now, so I assume that they're not virulent racists who'll you'll hate working for.
Also, because I saw it mentioned elsewhere in the thread, if you do good work you will fit into the good 'ol boys club just fine. I'm personally a yankee from a working-class background who has close ties to and loyalty to the Irish republican movement - I've had no problem fitting in at a southern bank filled w/ WASPs because I do good work, which makes the senior bankers I work w/ give 0 fucks about my background.
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