What IB exit ops have the best wlb?
The title says it all. I don’t want to be sweaty my entire career. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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Career Resources
business school
I currently do Corp Dev and it has a pretty solid WLB. There are still weeks where you'll get crushed on live deals and work banking esk hours but for the most part you really work anywhere from 30-50 hours. Some weeks, especially with wfh, even less. Pay is obviously the biggest draw back. My company doesn't bonus until you reach the manager level so base is all you get. With that being said I would say my base is inline with bankers at the associate level.
What is your comp like? And in what industry?
I'm right around 130. With the new raises I was just reading about maybe associates in IB are ahead of me now. I'm in non faang tech on the east coast. Large public company
Do you know how different FAANG comp is from the average?
Unfortunately, I do not know off hand, would assume more. One thing I have noticed from recruiters reaching out is that most companies offer bonuses below the manager level where as mine does not.
Retirement
Business school gives you the option to rethink your career path. Otherwise, agree with other - corp dev/startup strategic finance. Issue is these can be super hit or miss.
ie. I've seen the typical 2+2 IB/PE candidate for what I'd consider a less than desirable startup corp dev gig. Person I'm thinking of likely could have gotten into a M7 and as a result, a corp dev job with far greater potential (their corp dev startup gig does have some unicorn potential but have heard the company's is in constant internal conflict between the tech/development side of the company vs. the finance/accounting which is the CEO's background).
Have you looked at going the Sugan path? Might be what you are thinking.
Sugon*
I know some people that have gone that route…. Not my thing personally
What does this mean?
What are you referring to?
Sugan dese nuts
Agree. The sugondese islands are beautiful this time of year.
Asset management. I've heard great things about asset management divisions within some insurance companies where the pay is competitive, and hours are fantastic. Additionally, you have job security because the firm needs finance people to invest excess capital and manage said capital.
Even the PE/PC arms of insurance companies are pretty chill. They are typically much more relaxed than regular PE/PC funds.
Asset management and corporate development, although the latter may require you to hop between companies a tad more frequently. I have a few friends that work in family office PE that have decent WLB (~60 per week) but others at shops of similar size that get crushed, so I’d consider that choice to be way more hit and miss.
I hear unemployment has a great WLB, heavily skewed towards the life part.
All of the mentioned exit ops in this thread are directly finance related. That's cool and all but I would love to hear about exit ops that are outside the box.What about the Treasury Department or the Department of State? What about the NSA? Or product management in your respective sector?
A two year analyst stint leaves you with three very marketable attributes 1) Proof that you can work very hard and efficiently 2) That you can perform excellently detailed analysis 3) You can confidently present information to people/connect with people and 4) Your adaptable and a quick learner.
Any analyst leaving their analyst stint should be able to sell themselves well to so many different organizations.
Interesting point. I've always wondered if anybody went IB -> FBI/CIA type role? The one big drawback is probably pay
Also drug tests
The paycut is definitely real. But the job security, defined benefit plan, and the exit options available to someone with both IB and intelligence services on their resume can be very interesting, lucrative, and specialized. For example It's not uncommon for firms who go heavy into emerging market investments to have due diligence done on the ground as well as on paper. And who else would be better at that than someone who understands both finance and intelligence sourcing? Bonus points if you know another language and if your smart enough to land a FT position in IB your smart enough to land a seat at the DLA for a threat language.
Cousin of mine went this route post law school. Ended up leaving govt agency and got a very cushy private job (~100K for 35 hour work weeks).
Good thing "attention to detail" isn't one of the items you listed
Heads up former bankers would be bored anywhere in the State Department but the Foreign Service. Family member did the FSO path in the 90s and got to travel Europe and the Middle East. It's a very cool gig but probably closer to consulting than banking. More recently she's in one of the offices of citizen services and it is very bureaucratic. You would need to legitimately care deeply about the function to put up with the red tape combined with relatively low pay. GS (as in GS13, GS15 etc.) pay scales are very rigid and public information. You would have to spend a few decades there before reaching past 200k and they don't do bonuses.
If you're young enough, fit, and the Navy SEAL path is interesting, then diplomatic security hits a couple of the same marks. Our neighbor protects ambassadors in central Africa and similar places and really enjoys it.
It was always my dream to be a foreign service officer and work for the state department. Unfortunately, I got married and convincing a spouse who has her own career and life to up and move to Egypt or Cambodia or Paraguay or wherever else they send you for 3 years while I work for 40k a year as an FSO isn't as easy as you'd think
I gave up on that dream but still lie awake thinking about it and if I would be happier
Au Pair
Private Credit
If it’s distressed/special situations then it will get just as sweaty as regular PE
Nah not necessarily. I know a few special sits shops where IPs are working 60-65 hours a week which isn’t bad at all. Just don’t go to Apollo Hybrid Value, Blackstone, or Centerbridge - if you go somewhat smaller to a Varde, Castlelake, Atalaya, Crestline, VPC, Monroe Opportunistic Credit, etc. you should be fine
Join a hedge fund
Sounds fun :)
Yolo your money and Career
M&A -> Coverage group
I feel like coverage groups are actually pretty chill
Unemployment, probably.
Seriously, if literally all you care about is WLB, I'm sure there are some corporate jobs that would be 35-40 hours/week very reliably, but if you're in IB you're probably driven and aspire to more than that.
There are career paths with significantly better WLB than IB out there that still allow you to climb the corporate ladder. The compensation doesn't increase as steeply, and the career field might not be as prestigious, but that's the trade-off.
DJing
If you can’t land any gigs you're fucked lol.
True, that's when WLB starts to go so far to the 'life' side that it becomes bad again.
Porn
one fucking to another
Direct lending, pe co-invest, fund of funds
Marrying rich
+ 1 vote for AM. Great hours decent comp with stimulating work. Couldn't ask for much more.
I'll add to that for AM. Did exactly that (IB --> AM). Has been wonderful for work life balance and hasn't resulted in a super significant pay cut, and may in the near future represent significant possible pay improvement.
Retirement
Asset management is awesome, especially if you're at a shop like Wellington or Cap Group. You can be a career analyst as opposed to PM and consistently clock in 350-500K all-in with ~60 hours a week. The CFA is a bitch though.
Seconded. Only issue is getting a seat at one of these places is a near impossible task.
I heard co-invest and growth equity (can be) is relatively chill (55-60h). Is that true?
Depends on which firm. Had friends at top co-invest shops that got smoked.
Transition into roles at large consumer drug funds. I think mega-funds like (Sinaloa, Jalisco New Generation, and Gulf) are definitely harder to get into. They largely want MBAs and target the usual M7. Def better WLB and you get paid more.
The only drawback I would imagine is if you gotta sit through their beheading videos 🤮🤢
I’m in consulting, but a lot of the strategy jobs that recruit consultants also extend to IB analysts and can pay great comp with good WLB. Standard corporates are usually $110-140k-ish, but big tech or a hot startup can be in the $160-200k.
What would comp look like for a post-mba associate after a year or two of IB experience?
Not sure TBH. Manager positions are usually in the $200k range but it starts to vary a lot.
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