Work to live, not live to work. Low-stress finance jobs...

FP&A manager will get you there after 7-8 years if you play your cards right and move up or move out every two years or so. Likely never more than 50 hrs/wk at the manager level, though it depends on the company.

See: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/what-are-some-of-the-cushier-rol…

The parameters outlined in the OP's post are definitely achievable in F500 Corp Fin. Granted, it will take 6-8 years and 3-4 promotions to get there. I work for a global 500 firm in a relatively casual industry, and median salary for our managers is ~130k. The majority of whom are working less than 50 hours a week. Its company specific, but you can certainly carve out a balanced, well-paid lifestyle in Corp Fin as long as you can navigate the politics.

I believe there was a thread about this earlier in the summer (you can search cushy 40-45 hours 125k in the search bar and it might comes up :D)

Generally there are a few ways you can go about it. BB Ops is one. F500 Finance from the data points I have will probably get you to 120K by say 5-6 years or so (at this point you are a very senior analyst or junior manager). A credit rating agency is another option (you work a bit more occasionally but generally a low stress environment with around 120-150k upside at the similar years.) An associate in corporate development/corp strat will make around this amount as well. (YMMV but I'd say that it's about as close to a 9-5 job as you'll find in finance with good upside for more as you progress). I wouldn't worry too much about the figures. the ballpark really is to do good work for 5-7 years in some corporate role and you'll probably hit 120-150 unless you really mess up somewhere.

I do want to echo what others have said above that this would be a good medium term target but not necessarily one you should box yourself into right out of or a few years out of college, just because you may involuntarily limit your upside or as a worst case never approach 120k (unlikely but greater than 0% chance) if you stagnate at a point in time. if you are a few years in I think the most prudent approach is to really grind out 2-4 years of hard work and then enjoy the output of that work. The tradeoff is less free time when you are in your early 20's in exchange for a fairly probable likelihood you hit the number you seek above with pretty comfortable hours/lifestyle, but also with a significant degree of optionality to your opportunities beyond should you choose to seek them.

Of course the above is not the best for everyone at all. I'm of the opinion that you should never be in a job where you feel miserable getting up to go to the office. Life's far too short to dread this in each case ;P

OP - I'm surprised no one mentioned this yet, but Treasury and/or Tax are cushy and extremely secure jobs at corporations, and I think they fit the criteria you seek. However, do note that these fields are extremely (extremely!) specialized and folks stay for their entire careers, so don't expect much as to exit opportunities into other business areas. The tax folks at my company have been at the company for over 20+ years and they helped create and develop our extremely complicated tax structure and strategy, which spans multi-countries/jurisdictions (i.e. thank you Ireland). As such, their institutional knowledge and deep understanding are what creates the job security.

I recall this one time, when I first started, I needed guidance on what tax rates to use for revenue from Spain, France, etc. for modeling purposes, so I decided to pop my head into our M&A tax lead's office. What I thought would be a quick 5-10 minute discussion morphed into 1 hour lecture of him talking about the various legal entities we have in Europe and how we can minimize the tax impact by flowing our cash through A, but not B and/or C, then to Z....etc. etc.

Now I just ask via email and he tells me "oh, just use XX%".

Look into commercial banking, much faster pay progression than F500 finance, and similar hours. Transaction driven environment. I'm no longer at a BB and not leading as many deals. When I am not working on a deal, hours are easily 9-5. I'm actually not a fan of this and more of a hard hitting type A personality so trying to switch out.

money manager. super-wealthy clients often forget they have accounts with you. ive seen it happen.

One observation/experience I'd add is that many people I know you now have "cushy" jobs used to work in a more fast-paced position earlier on in their career (e.g. IB, consulting, etc.). For instance, lots of corp dev and corp start roles will have good pay, reasonable hours, and ability to live in a low COL area, but you often need previous experience in the specific area to be considered. Essentially, you have to pay your dues upfront.

Note: this is not to say you can't work your way up on the corporate side, but odds are that a "name brand" experience on your resume will help you get there faster and with more likelihood.

Work your way up the Ops ladder... Associate Directors at my firm (Equivalent to a VP at other firms) are making easy $130+ working in Ops.

This is my job exactly and I dislike it.

Most people would think I am crazy to say this but I prefer a challenge and way more risk and the sense of a true accomplishment like closing a deal. I get none of that from my current job especially as of late.

I get to interact with the front office and know how to create software they like. But the rewards don't really go beyond the money unless you are working somewhere more challenging like Citadel or Two Sigma.

Stress isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it may add to your job satisfaction. No jobs come without some stress, and if there are, those jobs will probably be automated soon...

The government, especially at the federal level can provide a stress-free yet fulfilling lifestyle that you're yearning for. Don't discount it before you look at what is available especially at places like the Fed or the SEC.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned middle office risk. 9-6, good pay, decent career opportunities all around. Though this might just be the places I've worked at so YMMV.

I'm a Senior FP&A guy making 100k in SF. Work from home twice a week and almost never more than 8 hours. I'd imagine if I got promoted to manager, I would be able to hit that range, so it's definitely doable. But like others said, it takes a while...I'm in year 6 of working.

I'm in FP&A and didn't leave the office until just before midnight last night. My boss (Associate Director) worked through the entire night. Granted we are preparing a Management Review presentation for the SLT, but the hours are consistently long and will only get worse once we start the Budget cycle.

Sr. Manager of Strategic Finance Role - Corp Dev. / FP&A hybrid - NYC suburbs 10 Years experience - All in comp $130K 8am - 6pm average work day, relatively stress free with the occasional deal/ project crunch.

It takes some time to get up in compensation, but throwing in a couple lateral or upward job moves helps big time.

I'm going to get flamed for saying this but internal audit after 3-5 years would fit the bill. Unless you get into a competitive program which is training future finance leaders (GE CAS, Dell GAT, etc.) the hours will be chill and you have to be an idiot to get fired. Even if you do, no one WANTS to be a SOX auditor and it's pretty easy to get another job as long as you don't drool on yourself in the interview.

I think the biggest thing is going to work for a smaller firm (less than 50 headcount), where you will feel more attached to your work and its impact on the company, and have to deal with less bureaucracy/process which leads to burnout. Ideally though you should grind it out in banking (either IBD or a very sophisticated and challenging group within a commercial bank), for a few years in order to cultivate a work ethic and at least learn professional polish and etiquette that is best learned at a large bank.

Career satisfaction is defined more by your attachment to your work, a sense of meaning, and opportunity for natural progression and increased responsibility on a purely meritocratic basis, uninhibited by bureaucratic tiers. It has nothing to do with salary:hours worked--ask any government worker if they like their job.

Some good options include: - Family office PE/investment management - Real estate or utility development at a smaller firm - Working your way quickly to management at a lower middle market company and get equity. I can't tell you how many times I was in a room full of PE sponsor team and bankers, while the guy who made C's in college but worked his way to the top of some random tiny company, now being bought, is cashing out for more money than anyone else in the room.

I just finished my first year at a Boutique IB in Chicago. 9-5:30 PM most of the time. Very limited weekend work and I come to work in jeans almost every day and every so often I just send an email to my partners to let them know I'm working from home for the day.

Pulled in exactly $125K my first year. Lower than street base, but my bonus was way bigger than expected.

I wouldn't say it's stress free though. Although definitely less than the top tier MM bank I interned for, I still stress about getting requests via email.

I would honestly say it feels like I'm living to work right now. I think it has more to do with you personal mentality rather than hours worked in a week. I'm trying to figure how to make my life more enjoyable right now and it's a challenge.

It's funny that your name involves NJ. Our back office sits there.

Software engineering. It's the blue collar job of the modern era.

i know someone with a BS in something useless working in HR at the Department of Energy making 140K in the midwest.

Fed gov. financial analyst could probably get you there.

Since you are going for the work to live approach, choose where you want to live first. Weather, demographics, COL, recreation are all HUGE for me. Where do you want to be?