Career advice please?
I'm seeking some advice from you finance-oriented people.
I'm graduating college in a few months and am having a complete crisis--I don't know what kind of career path I want to take. I floated through college thinking I'd like a job in PE and now I'm not sure. I know this sounds soft, but I want the dreaded work/life balance. I don't want to work more than 65 hours a week. And I know IB is out, and probably PE, and so I'm here to ask this: are there any jobs in finance that will allow me to work around 40-65 hours a week? I don't mind if the first two years or so have a higher workload, but I don't want to be working towards a job that's going to consume my entire life. I have another passion on the side that I want to grow that's very important to me, but it's a creative pursuit and won't make me much money for a while.
I don't need a crazy high income, but I would like to eventually be making between 100k-200k. Is this possible while working a 40-60 hour work week? I'm realizing all of this now (quite late, I know, but spare me), and I'm very stressed out thinking about my life becoming totally consumed by work 24/7 for the foreseeable long term future. I don't want it.
I've heard that corporate banking has better hours, can anyone speak to this? Or commercial banking? I've thought about consulting because it seems like after a while, I would be able to decrease my work load to an amount that's reasonable to me.
If it matters, my greatest strengths are in research, writing, and analysis. I considered equity research for a time but heard it was a dying industry (?).
Thanks for reading. Please forgive any ignorance on my part.
most any field will have long work hours attached to it, that's the just the nature of finance. That being said, the work/life balance at a smaller firm tends to better than the hours at a large firm. I was in the same position as you in about sophomore year in college, but then I realized that I could still do what I wanted to do, which was finance, but still have enough time do do the other things that I was passionate about, such as music. You will make less than you would you were working for a large firm, but you will still make pretty goo money, while still having enough time to do the other stuff that you are passionate about as well.
Is the pay that much worse?
Also, thanks for the reply. Would you mind me asking what you’re doing now?
Take anything job with Preftige then go into commercial banking or internal consulting.
I'm in AM right now
You should start by learning to spell shit like "advice"
Fixed the typo in the title, but as you could have seen by reading the first line, I can spell “advice”. No need to act prickly.
Take a look at PE Fund of Funds
First, breath. You're still a student. Work hard but enjoy the remainder of your college days.
If you're looking for financial services only, I would presume it would tilt towards the longer hours unless it's something like operations.
Don't write off corporate finance at various public and private organizations. It's a broad arena where one can find interesting work with suitable work life balance. I don't like working 70 hours a week, most people will tell you the same. There is more to life than IB/PE. Frankly, some of the real salaries I've seen with IB/PE are only marginally better than a comparable job at a corporation. They expect you to 'pay your dues' and that could mean earning the equivalent of an hourly wage at parity with a McJob. I'm sure I'll get a bounty of MS for saying this, because, after all, the average total comp of PE/IB is multiples of that one would get in a corporate finance role. Sure the average is, but let's not forget the skewness of a few tilting the average for the mass.
This. Especially the first sentence.
OP - Congrats on figuring stuff out that takes years for many in the industry to do so. You can "pay your dues" and do banking/M&A etc for two years and then leave for something internal somewhere or switch within your bank. You could do private banking, or traditional asset management, you could even do S&T, or FoF though that might require socializing and it's kind of a dying business (S&T and FoF). Yeah there are lots of things you can do in finance. The upside financially won't be there but you'll have that balance for sure.
On not knowing what to do with your career? All I can say is I haven't figured it out, and neither have the majority of people in general. And that's ok. Welcome to the world.
Good Luck
Ha! You and me both brother! I dread the "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" Looking back, I wouldn't have assumed I'd be where I'm at in my wildest dreams. But stranger things have happened.
Thanks for the perspective. I’ll keep corporate finance in mind, seems like I’m more likely to find what I’m looking for there. I guess I’m just worried that I won’t be challenged/interested enough by a job in corporate finance. I need to do a little research I guess.
I think you'd be surprised. Find a company you have a sincere interest in.
Like video games? Look at corporate finance at Game Stop. Like snowmobiling? Look at corporate finance at Polaris. Like social media, Harley Davidson, beer, Tesla, tech, communications, etc, you get it. Each and every company has a finance group that is doing everything from forecasting revenue, optimizing capital usage, assessing debt options, seeking acquisitions, and hedging risk.
Hang in there OP. There are plenty of finance career paths to happiness and career growth besides the "high finance" that you typically hear about here on WSO. I did a WSO podcast with Patrick a few weeks back if you're interested in more details but some summary points below.
I started my career at a major healthcare system in the FLDP>Corporate Finance still at major healthcare system>new opportunity in FP&A at a PE portfolio company and have had very few weeks over 65 hours. The majority of my weeks have been and are 40-60 hours depending on what projects are going on, where we are in the budget, and month end close. I would say my work is interesting and incredibly variable in what I work on since I work directly with the C Suite at this PE backed company. I'm in the Midwest so COL is much lower than NYC or other major cities but comp wise, I'm at $80k+bonus in my 4th year working (now Sr. Financial Analyst) with plenty of room for growth.
One other thing I would highly encourage you to look for in your work is something you are passionate about. I had 2 internships in college: UHNW family office and ER. Both left me unfulfilled so I turned to healthcare. In healthcare, I truly feel like I'm making a difference in people's lives for the better and provide a service/product that I can say I would recommend to any sick family members or friends. It makes my job satisfaction way higher than when I was working in more WSO type of finance.
It wasn't long ago that I was in your shoes. I also am a WSO mentor if you would like some more direct advice about paths that are less traditional on WSO.
Thank you for the long detailed reply. I'm always looking for mentors, so I will PM you. Thanks!
It's totally possible. Commercial real estate banking is super cushy if you land a position at a regional bank with good culture. Credit/loan committee consists of writing/analysis. Corporate finance is cushy depending on company.
Commercial/Corporate Banking is a route you should definitely consider and despite what you may hear, at a Bulge Bracket you have many career options outside of "Underwriter or Relationship Manager." Good work/life balance and the real value to me has always been the opportunity to work on things that you're passionate about "outside of work." If you play your cards right, your outside activities may start to generate as much income as your day job. Bring an Investment Banker mentality to a Commercial Banking role and you will easily outwork everyone around you.
Read the 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris. The balance you are seeking is 100% possible, realistic, and recommended.
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