Excluding PE, which I understand to be generally less common, what are the best exit opps for an IB associate who doesn’t want to work 80 hour weeks? I’ll assume that most exits will be a pay cut in comparison with IB, but is there anything even moderately close? (no idea what corp dev salaries are)
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On a serious note, there won't be anything close from a comp perspective. I would say the best work / life balance while still getting paid well (if you like M&A) would be working in business development for an acquisitive corporate. You'll still be doing deals and leveraging your skills but working closer to 50-60 hours per week, though close to IB hours if you have an important deal in the hopper.
and how steep is the pay cut usually?
Would be dependent on OP's current comp level, and candidly I would be guessing a bit, but likely somewhere in the 30-40% range.
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