Tough decision - Take IB offer or stay in FP&A?

Stay in FP&A. You’ll want to crawl back if you jump into IB. Speaking from experience.

What do you want to do long term? Are you happy in FP&A and could you see yourself staying in that long term, or do you want to eventually go to MM PE / corp dev?

If you like FP&A and are just using IB to get ahead in that role / make some more money for a bit, don't bother. Not worth the effort, time, relationships etc. If you are just dying for a taste of PE (doesn't sound like it) that would be one thing. But the grass isn't greener and sounds like you have a pretty solid gig where you are. Maybe feel out corp dev roles if you ever get bored and want something in the middle.

I’ve merely completed an internship in IB but I think a wise man would tell you to stay in FP&A.

I also think you may be too focused on the comp. Sure compounding will make that 2x higher salary in IB even more into the future but if you stay in FP&A for the long haul there’s no reason you can’t get relatively rich compared to what any other average person is able to obtain.

You should only go into IB if you will forever regret not going for any reason, or if you are legitimately interested in banking, doing deals or the specific group you are in. If it’s just comp you are thinking of then don’t do it.

Don't do it. Full stop, you have no idea what you're walking away from and what you're walking into. You have a stable job with a good salary and time for your mental health, physical health, personal relationships, and hobbies. If you go to IB you're throwing all of that away in favor of being forced to work 80-100 hours weeks, while sleep deprived, under pressure from your superiors, with a constant fear of making mistakes. This is no joke brother, think twice. You have it all.

I haven't read all of the comments, so sorry if I'm repeating anything. You have to think carefully on what you want your middle/long-term career to look at. I'll give you a few options, but know that there are obviously many more options.

1. Stay in FP&A and climb the corporate ladder. You've mentioned that you are comfortable in your current role. You can easily stay any grow. From what I've seen, the best way to do this is to change companies every 3 years for a new title/pay increase. I've seen success with people who join a large corporation's corporate finance division, but then goes downstream with a better title (i.e. start as an analyst at an F50, then manager at an F500, director at a public company, VP at a private company, etc.). The trend can reverse once you become C-suite/whatever title goal you want to reach, wherein you keep the same title but jump to larger companies. 
2. You join banking and stay in "high finance". Either you work your way up in banking, or you jump to something else like PE. Within banking, you might get to a high enough level where your comp is great on hours are ok. I don't think hours are ever chill in banking, even at MD (the focus shifts to spending time finding deals). If you want to go into PE, I'd think hard about the size of the fund and industry. LMM actually seems quite nice, and where I myself am thinking of eventually going. The thing about this path is that your career is your life. Your hours might become better as time goes one, but it will still be the predominant focus of your life. Not everyone wants this. It's the complete opposite of working a 9-5 making low 6-figures, but enjoying other things in life (family, hobbies, etc.)
3. From the comments I read, one option was not mentioned. Going into IB and then coming back to corporate. Corporations love hiring bankers, and you can skip many levels / go into a more interesting department from banking. For example, from banking it is common to land corporate strategy / development jobs. These roles put you much closer with the C-Suite, and can be a major boost for your career. These roles can offer a lot in terms of wlb. You'd potentially work on interesting projects (i.e. fulfilling career) plus be able to enjoy life outside an office. I personally think this option is much more preferable than the first. Staying at a corporation from the start takes a long time to reach the top. Solid consulting/banking experience can greatly accelerate this process.

I think people are quick to dismiss IB because of its hardships, but I would warn against downplaying its advantages. There is a reason it is such a sought after job. Look past the immediate pay-bump; IB can open many otherwise closed doors.

Before you decide on IB though, make sure your personality is the right fit. Make sure you're the type of person that doesn't take criticism personally; make sure you are able to handle multiple projects while keeping your stress level low. I had a great time in banking, and overall did really well. It wasn't because I was smarter/harder working than everyone else (far from it), but I was able to handle stress really well. It's just a job at the end of the day, don't let it get to you. There are far worse things in life than working in IB. 

Either way, hope it works out for you.  I recently decided to shut the door for good on IB due to the fact that I make similar money to you in a role hardly working 40 hours a week, and 3 days WFH.

I decided not to go for IB because of two things:

1) I enjoy my life outside of work too much. Gym, sports, doing basically whatever I want whenever I want once work is over. Also have a girlfriend.

2) I likely couldn't come back to my current role if I decided I hated IB which ultimately was too much risk for me.  You may be in a little different spot here since it appears you're still at the Analyst level.

Different opinion here. Do it. Do the 2 years and push yourself and see what your max is. It's easier to spin a story if you end up not liking it for a year and need to swap back to FP&A, but will you have a nagging voice in the back of your head if you turn down the MM offer? Only time can answer that. 

If you are dedicated to working out, You can still go minimum 3x a week. Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. +1 other day if you're able to wake up at 7am on a day you're WFH.Ask yourself what you do with your free time. Gymming takes ~2 hours when you go from door to door, how much TV do you watch? Scrolling on your phone on weeknights?

Do you want to be comfortable? 

I was in a unique situation where I started on a brand new team in the middle of covid. Only one person had prior experience. There were never any in-person interactions, no one to really mentor me, and it was tough for the 11 months i was in that role. But I've swapped banks now and joined a proper analyst cohort and it's great. As long are you like the team and peers around you, it will be alright. The people around you is the most important thing. 

Ive always wondered, if you lateral into IB from something else like FP&A or Equity Research after a couple years, do you start of as AN1? 

I just feel like it would be weird to be a 25 yr old 1st year analyst 

I left FP&A after 2 yrs to go into IB. Work was much more exciting, thoroughly enjoy it more. While the hours kinda suck, it’s worth it for me. At first it was definitely a hard adjustment though

Make the jump. Stack your money as much as possible.

I did 5 years of IB and banked so much money. I'm in FP&A now and treat it as my semi-retirement/part-time job (hours now are about half of my IB hours) while spinning up my online business. 

…

Would you mind PMing? In a similar situation and would be happy to bounce my own ideas off of you and vice versa.

Think about this before jumping ship:

1. You can make head of FP&A or senior manager or whatever. Hopping around isn't so difficult I believe for FP&A folks?

2. This was me in a relatively chill healthcare coverage group, meaning 40%-50% weekend work: I was out Saturday night with my girlfriend. Was in a jazz bar and was all cozy. I got pinned and jumped on a call for 1 hour so she sat in the bar and listened to music on her own. I felt bad. She is a lawyer so she understands my schedule, but still I'm sure we all want to spend quality time with people we care about. After we said goodbye that night around 12:30am I went back and worked till 2:30am. I also spent 3-4 hours Sunday between actual work and work-related communication.

Again, I'm in a relatively chill coverage group. 

This is a tricky one. If you choose to stay in FP&A you'll likely think "what could've been..." for a long time. On the other side of the coin, speaking from experience and having gone from 45-60 hour weeks in consulting to consistent 70-80 hour weeks (and many times more), it's very hard to give up the extra things in life outside of work and completely dive into a lifestyle where work dominates everything. The kids coming into IB right after college have nothing to compare the lifestyle to, so I would actually say it makes the job more palatable for them. You have something to compare to, and that makes the sacrifice/experience significantly more tough. 

another point of view: think about your longevity. in FP&A you can stay for 30 years, and collect big checks with minimal effort in the later stage. in IB, they'll fuck up your health and shorten your life expectancy and fire you in like 5 years if you fail to bring business.

Really depends on how sweet your FP&A gig is mate. If you're at FAANG or some F50, stay where you are - opportunities to climb the corporate ladder are aplenty. Otherwise, i'd take the IB route, do 2 years and re-assess because this will give you branding / optionality if you lacked that in your current role. 

I could type on but i'm time-poor. Feel free to PM

Hi there,

I’ll be a first year analyst coming this summer in FP&A and was wondering what your comp progression was like for your first two years? Also are you in a HCOL city?

(I’m just trying to gauge what my progression could potentially look like)

did OP end up taking ibd?