Would appreciate any and all perspectives. I'm 2 years post MBA and leaving BB IB (Industrials coverage). Considering a few job options, as below (one of the below is an offer; the others are processes I'm in at second round or further. I know that not all will convert to offers, realistically (duh). But let's just go with it for the sake of argument):
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EMEA Corporate Development M&A at a $100Bn+ privately held company that is a leader in its space and very well regarded (location: Western Europe). Comp okay (definitely lower than IB on base, limited bonus)
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Middle market private equity focused on Industrials, with some special situations and activism work (location: NYC). Comp in line with IB, perhaps slightly less but still good
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Western European pension fund investing role, generalist PE coverage with a focus on Real Assets (location: Western Europe). Comp likely good, but very high taxes. Not sure about bonus structure
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Middle Eastern SWF PE investing role (location: Middle East). Excellent comp and other expat-type perks
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Niche lower MM PE opportunity in sustainable infrastructure (kind of impact investing-ish). Very regional: invests specifically in PNW (location: SF). Below market comp for PE
About me, if it helps: H/S/W MBA, top Bulge Bracket IB post MBA. I like the Industrials space but not wedded to it. I'm American, but speak 3 languages and have lived overseas in the past (5+ years). Would love another international experience. Pay matters, but it's not the only consideration. Prestige and exit opps also matter to me, potentially more than immediate comp.
Help me out, guys (and girls)! Which would you choose and why?
Need more information on your background. You single and in your early 30's? That Middle Eastern SWF looks like a playboy adventure. Plus the benefits of having wealthy princes in your network.
Yes, single and in early 30s. Middle East - definitely an adventure, might (realistically) be pretty lonely though...
Dude you need to live. Forget which job pays you the most or is the most prestigous with most exit opps, u need to find a job that you enjoy and will have the most time outside of it. I'm sorry, I just don't understand people who think life is all about work. What about enjoying it? You're not going to be on your deathbed thinking, "gee, I'm so happy I made all that money in my PREFTIGOUS job with AMAZING exit opps", ur going to be thinking "gee, why didn't I ENJOY life more". ur literally in the top 2% in wealth worldwide, some people don't even have a fucking roof to live under in this world
Anyway, that's just my 2cents
Pizz Haha - actually I agree! I think you're right, which is part of why I'm leaving IB (who wants to be a 24/7 slave in a declining / contracting industry for what in the end is a sales job??).
To me, at this moment, pay matters to some degree because - practically speaking - I still have debt to pay off from business school. And like anybody else, I like to travel/have fun and I'd like to invest towards the future. But I agree, it's not all about money.
I'd love to do something international again in part because it is important to me to travel, have a broad range of experiences, and meet interesting and diverse people. That's living, right?
Thanks for your perspective - it's an important point.
Be careful, living abroad =/= travel. Lived in the Middle East and 4 countries in Europe, and I can say that I would never want to live in some of the countries I loved traveling to. However living in a big city with a wide range of nationalities (both at work and outside) was really enriching.
Being European, I'd recommend staying away from France/German companies as the pay will in most cases be much lower than what you could expect in the US/UK.
Getting PE post IB Associate is impressive, I'd go for it as I guess you would probably be able to stay there in the long run.
Be careful about SWF in ME, if you want to go for the $$ and go back go for it. Most likely not sustainable in the ling run. Been in the ME, locals will work you hard and will expect very high performance.
You're too young and it's too early to settle for that corpdev gig. I would take the MMPE option though I'm heavily US biased.
Esuric what if, for the sake of argument, they were all US based jobs? Let's say geography is no barrier here
What's the corpdev title? I think I would still take the MMPE role. It's the proper career trajectory, doesn't limit your options/pigeonhole you (fits your narrative) and you really are too young to settle.
Let me put it this way: I'm in corpdev in a similar type of company in its industry and my background is way less impressive than yours.
Senior Associate --> Would make manager in 12-18 months
The team is smart, all ex bankers but tends towards MM or non bulge experience
I hear you...
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Definitely wouldn’t take the corpdev role if the title is just Sr associate. As Esuric noted, you’re a bit too young to settle for Corp dev. If you go into PE, you can still go into Corp dev later. The same can’t be said for being in Corp dev and moving into PE (as you’ll lose a bit of your IB exp, as they’ll put more emphasis on your last/latest role).
Personally, I’d also take the MM PE role. Living overseas is a cool experience (I’ve enjoyed living outside of North America), but I would also think about whether the skills will be transferable/appreciated and the ability/ease of the transition back to US (if that’s the plan). I think the European PE pension would also be a good play factoring the above.
Middle East - I guess if I were in my 20s or pre-MBA, I’d be more inclined to try it (unique story, differentiated experience). But in my 30s, I’d probably go for something that’s adventurous enough but not too different? As you mentioned, it might be a bit lonely. I imagine they probably have a very tight knit expat community... But i imagine there’s less culture shock with living in Europe than ME. And you can always visit, or maybe on occasion look at that market if you happen to be EMEA focused. Don’t necessarily need to live there.
The impact investing role is probably interesting. But living in SF is costly and impact investing roles definitely underpay. Personally I wouldn’t go for this because it’s also a bit niche.
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