In house corporate m&a. Nyc based.
Seems depressing and a huge step down as a senior associate in IB (inflation is insane right now). That nearly what first year analysts make now with the base increases.
Not sure what to think. Is it better to try and move to something chill on the sell side (ecm etc)?
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Is it a manager or director role? What industry?
Manager
Its a large conglomerate, multi industry.
If you are in any MCOL that will go very far.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-living-calculator
That seems decent. Why not to VP? Just over the hours? Maybe look into Ecm or dcm. Or look for Corp dev in a outside of the city where the money will go further.
Is your group particularly bad? I’m a first year associate so it’s hard for me to gauge how I would feel after years of this, but I can’t see myself leaving because I can’t take a pay cut.
I’m wondering if ECM even has that much better hours. Maybe now that SPACs are calming down I guess.
My group has been bad. Everyone great left except our annoying vps and directors. Literally no one else with more than 1 year experience outside me.
Damn dude, I feel like you shouldn’t be getting murdered like that as a senior associate. May be worth exploring other firms and speaking with ppl who you know will be honest with you about working conditions. Your VPs and whoever else have created a bad environment. Do you enjoy investment banking?
From 9 to 5pm I like it(srs)
5pm to 9pm i tolerate it
9pm to midnight I hate it
Midnight to 3am i want to die (not literally)
3am to 6am i dont buckle my seatbelt in the uber taking me home since I don't care if I die if it wrecks
~$240 all in is in the general ballpark of total comp you'd receive for your first full year on the desk. Obviously if you're going to industry you're taking a paycut - no way around that - so IDK if I'd be super disappointed with the corp dev comp package. Likely other subjective factors to consider as well (upward mobility, public vs private, stock comp vesting schedule, etc)
$240k all-in for a 9-5 (or 9-6) role sounds pretty good
Do you work at BofA? Know several groups having similar issues
.
?
Try to find something similar outside of NYC. Or maybe even the simplest solution is see if this is a remote hybrid role and live outside the city. 240k all-in is solid for 40-50 hours, but NYC blows.
240K as a senior associate? That's actually a lot better than what I've seen (most are 170-200K all in around NYC). I assume you're either A2A or had pre-MBA finance exp if you went the MBA route?
Also what type of industry is this?
Sort of like holding company. Like icahn enterprises, Mitsubishi, koch, Hyundai etc
$240k is actually pretty darn good. Just keep in mind your raises will be small...
Any numbers on ECM comp? OP mentioned it so i’m just curious
$240k is really good, especially for what sounds to be a non Tech industry. I would flag that in house M&A can vary from really slow to really busy, both can be a cure. Slow team makes days longer and busy work intolerable, busy team makes WLB shit and you'll wish you were a slave making IBD comp vs. slave making $240k
Definitely a step down from AS3 comp and depends how much lifestyle creep you allowed over the last few years.
Only lifestyle creep has been oppressive 3am nights
$240k for a manager title in corporate land outside of big tech / unicorns is solid - even above market considerably. Not sure how making nearly a quarter mil in your 20s with a low hours / non-client facing gig with less bullshit to deal with would make anybody depressed - get a reality check OP.
This is remarkably short sighted, and you'd gripe at this career trajectory if you were in the same juncture. $240k in your 20s sure is decent (btw idk what you think is “market” for Corp Dev is 240k is significantly above market), not nearly as great as stepping down from making $400k+ as an AS3, but better hours sure whatever. Now fast forward into your 40s where you're still basically making the same shit and have 2 kids to feed in NYC. It's a huge adjustment and paradigm shift and here you are telling him look it could be worse.Your reality check is akin to "oh there's starving kids in Africa?" Is it applicable? Sure - literally everything in this forum is 0.1% circle jerk bubble material, is it helpful? No.
You guys are out of touch man, like severely out of touch.
$240k is what a director who’s climbed up the corporate ladder for 12-15 years can expect to make outside tech. A kid in his 20s jumping into the same gig with half to less than half the experience is pretty fucking good in my book.
If OP wants to maximise income then they should stick to the usual suspect paths or go try out being an entrepreneur lifestyle / stress inclusive.
Becoming “depressed” and complaining because you’re going from a high paying to a slightly less high paying but still high paying job is the height of self-delusion, entitlement and arrogance - no one cares how special you think you are editing PPT / XLS docs working as an assistant to some glorified realtor.
People in finance have some seriously messed up self-images.
In my 30s and have a kid. More expenses.
Alright then likely used the b-school reset?
Doesn’t change much though not like you can’t afford to raise a kid on nearly a quarter mil a year.
You have to realise that compensation isn’t determined by your wants it’s determined by the market and business dynamics. If you want to stay flush, stay in banking but move group or hop to a buyside gig - BS and all that comes alongside with.
If not, can’t think of much worse than retaining relatively solid comp and a more manageable lifestyle where you get to actually see your kid grow up. Can always hop to tech in the same role after a year at this gig. Should be a +25-35% bump all-in.
I'm bowing out. Always have to remember 80% of this site is folks under 23 who see $240k and think diamonds. I was exactly the same way when I was in college and I found out that after 2 years in banking you could get $250k in a buyside associate gig at General Atlantic and $300k at Eton Park at the time. I thought that was fucking amazing and insane. Literally thought I'd have so much money.
$240k for a Manager in Corp Dev is very solid, especially if it's non-tech. Corp Dev will also certainly be more interesting than something like ecm/dcm for most people.
Move out of NYC…
This. Outside of a handful of major coastal cities, $240k at a 9-6 will buy you a very solid UMC life. Hell, go to Chicago or something and you’ll be loving life.
I feel like I bang the drum on this site a lot, but I took the plunge and moved to a still large but lower COL city several years ago. My hours and stress are so much lower than in NYC and I haven’t had to trade off interesting work. Comp is lower than if I stayed in NYC but practically speaking I feel just as wealthy with a nice house and short commute. Life is slower but fine by me
Idk what kind of lifestyles you guys are living but if you don't think you can live in nyc with 240k' it means you have spending issues. Hell even with 100k you can make things work, and if you have a SO making 50k, 150k all in, that's enough to have a great life in nyc. If both you and your s/o are making 100k, you're gonna have a great time in NYC.
People saying 240k is low, think of the future, are forgetting the lifestyle differences here. Sure, IB/PE you will certainly make more over the long term, but OP has pretty clearly stated he's over that lifestyle. A top IB performer will be a great performer in corp - easy to make director/VP later on and not work crazy hours.
I’ve heard it’s actually very hard to make VP in corporate.
Correct, VP is a very high level role in F500 and tough to make. Dir/Sr. Dir. is very attainable.
If you have kids find a job outside of NYC with similar comp. $240K is too little to get the elite connections in NYC that you want for your kids and you know it. Any T2/T3 city has prestigious neighborhoods (and by extension schools).
What does elite connections for kids even mean? Let your kids grow up in a normal life instead of trying to push prestige nationwide at all times...jeez we're all humans here
If you go to the right NYC schools, live in the right gated community, member of the right golf club, etc. your buddies, neighbor or your kid's friend's parent will be a higher up in high finance who can push for your kid when SA/FT recruiting rolls around.
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