Quitting to do REPE
Hi everyone,
I’d like some advice on quitting my current BB IB job to go do REPE.
Some background: started in August and have been consistently working 70-80h weeks and almost every weekend. The work is interesting and I like my group but the hours are soul crushing. I barely have time to work out during the week and every weekend I’m just one email ask away from ruining my very limited social life.
Ever since starting I’ve just been dreaming about how to make it on my own and have gotten into real estate investing.
I’ve realized I am going to need experience in the RE industry before I can start something for myself and was wondering what an analyst/associates life is like in REPE.
Do you still have intense hours & weekend work? What is comp like? Do you think you are gaining the knowledge to break out on your own in 3-5 years time?
If I stay where I am I’m expecting a $60-100k bonus on top of my $100k base.
Thanks for any responses!
Hi,To answer what I think is your main question here, yes. You CAN break out on your own within 3-5 years, and the work-life balance CAN be many times better than what you are experiencing.I'll explain what I mean below, but it sounds like you have the interest in real estate, which is the most important part of enjoying whatever amount of hours you are working in anything and avoiding the "soul crushing" feeling.As far as comp and hours go, REPE is great because there is a pretty large spectrum and elasticity to both comp and hours (much larger spectrum than IB at least). The great thing for you is that if you are currently in a BB IB role, you will have your pick of the litter in terms of what point on that spectrum you want to be in for the most part. Comp can range from above IB to way below it, and hours can range from 80+ to 45/week. Comp will be best at the 80+ hour roles (Megafunds & Elite/Boutique UMM funds), and tend to be the worst at the shops where you work 45 hours a week. However, if you want a good balance of both, talk to recruiters about that, and you will likely be looking at solid UMM REPE funds (there are gems in this group that pay very well and work around 50-55 hours/week).However, if you want to break out on your own in 3-5 years, you should go to a smaller entrepreneurial shop that does deals below 100M that may have ok comp and 50 hour work weeks, and choose to work 65+ hours anyways. You will be a rockstar for them, and you can learn everything about the process and build relationships with everyone in that space that you will need to break out on your own after those 3-5 years.Hope this helps!PM me if you want to talk more about it.