Investment Banking is not an industry for those who are frail. Working in Investment Banking industry also means that you have to devote 100+ hours per week for work, meet deadlines all the time with the sense of urgency as you could lose out important deals anytime.
There is a wide range of choices for bankers who would like to have a change in their career path which will be listed below. Some options are quite popular, while some of them are rare, and require you to quickly absorb new skills within a short amount of time.
1 . PRIVATE COMPANY
BENEFITS
If you are keen on working on deals, then Private Equity is among the best choices
This is a great opportunity to hone a “generalist skill set”, as the job requires you to do a mixture of tasks: Financial Analysis, Negotiations, Sales, etc.
Attractive Salary
DRAWBACKS
In order to receive “serious” compensation (8-figure range or beyond), you need to advance to a very senior level or start your own firm.
There are challenges to entering private equity. Furthermore, it is hard to be promoted to the top, as partners at these firms have such cushy positions that hardly anyone leaves voluntarily.
2. Hedge Funds & Asset Management
Unlike Private Equity, where you mainly buy and sell entire companies, with hedge fund, your main task is to follow and invest in companies individually.
With such traits, prepare to endure a stressful work as you will constantly monitor the market. The requirements are quite strict since you need to possess a track record, a passion for investing as well as particular ideas. Another thing that you should notice that hedge fund will help you develop very specialized skill sets, nevertheless, it may be a hinder if you want to move to different funds or other industries.
In addition, be careful since hedge fund also contains many risks. You lose once, chances you will be thrown out of the funds!
3. Venture Capital
If you prefer a long-term venture capital career, or working at a tech or bio startup in a finance or business development role has always been on your list, then Venture Capital is a good option for you. This path will provide you with better lifestyle with more flexible working hours, as you can choose your hours – how much you work, which projects you will invest and how much you will invest. Since you invest in early-stage companies, there’s less financial analysis, and you spend most of your time analyzing the market, finding interesting companies, and networking.
4. Corporate Finance & Corporate Development
This options slightly differs from other investment banking exit opportunities since it is not a front-office role. To be more specific, you are no longer working with potential investment companies or partners. With corporate finance career path, your main task is to deal with internal finance, regarding company’s budgeting, internal processes, and financing needs. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is the end goal of corporate finance career path.
Meanwhile, with Corporate Development, your main task is to work on acquisitions and joint ventures at a company. If you work at a well-known company, you will have many options afterwards: You could go to business school, go back into investment banking, or even go into private equity.
5. Startups/Entrepreneurship
If you have always dreamt of being an entrepreneur, then this is your option. Once you have saved enough capital after certain years of working, you can take risks and follow your dream. This option is especially useful for people in MD ranks who don’t have many options to switch from investment banking to something else. You can start a consulting firm or an advisory firm or whatever you please. Many ex-investment bankers start their own restaurant. If that is what you want to do, you can do that as well.
6. Boutique Banks &CONSULTING
If you are a junior M&A professional and looking for a better opportunity (senior positions), boutiques bank may attract you. Even senior M&A professionals can choose this for better work-life balance. However, if you are a junior M&A professional, you may need to work harder than you did in your previous bank.
If you are a banker who has experience in consulting before banking, you’re good to go in strategy consulting. Many investment bankers join strategy consulting for the sheer love of strategy. But remember once you choose this option, you wouldn’t be called a banker; rather you will be named as “strategist”. And soon enough you will be able to understand how powerful powerpoint presentations and matrix diagrams are.
8. Other Options
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