Post MBA Career Advice
Hi, I am looking for some thoughts on what my next career move should be. I have a detailed background below. But I am 3 years out of MBA. have a background in consulting and FP&A with some M&A exposure. Ideal for me would be corporate development or a small PE shop but not sure how realistic that is.
I am a graduate of a top 5 MBA program with a liberal arts undergrad. I am 3 years our of school. Interned in PE at a small shop, chose not to go back as they weren't in acquisition mode. I have experience in management consulting and FP&A at 2 companies one of which is F500.
Currently I work in FP&A and I am my companies lone M&A analyst (both on prospective deals and working on current integrations), though we are not super active. I think the pay is great, 140k base, 6% 401k match, 20% bonus in a LCOL (think: Houston, Dallas, Raleigh, Atlanta). On top of that the work life balance is amazing, 40-50 HPW. That being said company performance is very poor and the management is worse. There is a good chance my company doesn't exist in 2-3 years. There is also the possibility I need to relocate to NYC for personal reasons. I do not really like accounting and would not want to get a CPA to advance along the FP&A path. Additionally I am unsure if we will do another deal to bolster my M&A bonifides. I spoke to some F500 Corp Dev teams in the Minneapolis area but the pay seemed quite poor which concerns me.
I am trying to figure out a good next step for me would be. Is 160 base possible for FP&A roles in NYC? That is about what I would need to hit to maintain my current savings performance. I have gotten a little interest for director roles in my local market but nothing yet in NYC and I doubt Sr analyst roles pay that. Any other input as to what roles may put me in that comp range with a somewhat sane worklife balance?
Hey - just to give you a data point, I was in an FP&A role as a senior associate at one of the BB banks in 2015.
-Base pay was 100k with relo of 10k (from NC to NYC)
-Weak bonus, think the average was around 5-7k (associate)
-Avg wk hr per wk was around 40-45
You might be able to make around 120k-30k ish as a VP. Not sure about 160k.
Thanks, what do you do now? I think staying in pure FP&A is probably not the route to victory for me. Not only is it boring, but it is less lucrative than other fields I feel
what kind of consulting did you prior to this?
I was a consultant at two firms. The first was a second tier (Booz, BAH, EY, etc) and I did financial strategy for banks. The second was a strategy group within a large independent accounting firm where I did market sizing and strategy evaluations on behalf of PE clients looking to acquire companies. The firm was founded by BCG alums.
I think you have a shot at both, especially with that Top 5 MBA. Yeah PE is a long shot, but might as well try. You have a chance. Hit up MBA alums in NYC and get some interviews cranking. It could take some time and you're going to have to carefully plan out your interviews and flights to NYC. If you think the company is going down, you should probably start making moves soon so that you're not applying without a current job, which would make it even more difficult.
Leadership roles - yes.
FP&A Manager Salaries in New York City, NY Area base: $122,146 https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/new-york-city-fpa-manager-jobs-SRCH_IL.0,…
Director, Financial Planning and Analysis Salaries in New York City, NY Area base: $167,754 https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/new-york-city-director-financial-pla…
You sound like you're around 30+. That's a good age for T5 or T10 MBA grads to start thinking about leading small companies as CFO as well. I would encourage you to apply to CFO positions or Director of Finance positions for small companies and then look up their strategy and vision and think of how you could play a role in their future success, as this will be the conversation in the interview with the CEO.
You could seek out these positions in NYC for some options:
I'd hit up indeed and your alum network. I don't think it will take you more than a few months to find something good.
Hey thanks for the reply. Does your advice or opinion change if I tell you I am a few years shy of 30? This is good advice and I will check out what my alumni network may have to offer
Ah really - no it doesn't change my advice. But, it might make it harder to get CFO at some places, especially if you have a babyface or something (seriously). I think wealth management is worse in that aspect though.
You might blend in as the CFO of a tech place though - might be a good environment. I interviewed for a tech CFO slot a few years ago in Silicon Alley (NYC). It seemed like a really good gig, but didn't get it. I wrote a 5 page letter to the CEO about financial strategy and how to capture market share and he called me in for an interview. Was a really young crowd at the company and they had foosball tables and a beer keg and stuff. Casual dress. If you could find one of these 'cool' / 'hip' startup companies, it could be a lot of fun, and you might get a nice chunk of equity along the way.
Also, with your experience and T5 MBA, I wouldn't completely write out VCs or Hedge Funds either if you are interested in that stuff. Its going to be difficult to get into, but if you're headed back to NYC, you might as well try to hit up some funds (if you could find some alum there, you might be able to get at least a face to face or a phone interview).
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