Deal vs Ops Side in PE

I can't give specifics into salary as I'm sure it varies from firm to firm. What I will say is that it can definitely be an interesting career as you'll essentially be a high level consultant across one if not multiple portfolio companies. You'll work with management to drive all types of high level strategy inititaves and will probably get to work across a number of different functions.

With that being said, the work you'll do will be dictated by the fund you're working at. Someplaces will really emphasize growth, while others might emphasize cost cutting and restructuring. Knowing the operating strategy will be really important before starting this type of role as it will greatly impact what you're actually doing at the portcos.

You'll also probably have to travel a lot, maybe up to 4 days a week like a consultant, but again, depends on the firm.

In general it's also a tough job, operating roles are tough and having to be responsible for the operations of a few different companies will be a constant challenge. I'd imagine it would appeal to a certain type of person, but it's by no means an easy job.

Lastly a personal opinion of mine is that it never makes quite as much sense to go to a specific company or type of business and then not work on the "revenue generating" side of the business. If you're really into technology/coding, you're probably better off at a Google than a Goldman. If you want to be in finance, Goldman over Google. So to apply that to this scenario, the deal side at a PE firm is always going to be sexier, no matter how good of an operations team the firm has. So if you were really looking to become a great operator, PE operations probably isn't the place to do it. With that being said if you like the lifestyle/work, it could be a great career that would be similar to that of a consultant, but potentially higher paying and more unique.