People who've left ER, where did you go, why did you go, and are you happier?
Pretty much the title.
I'm a current ER associate. Middle to top bucket. Feeling slightly disillusioned about the job, not sure if it's my sector or the whole premise of the thing but my internal motivation has fallen off a cliff this year, knowing that I probably don't want to continue down the exact path I'm on.
ER pay isn't the best ofc but I'm still compensated better than anyone I know apart from my friends who do law/IB/S&T, so that's one hang up. Not much else pays similar in the UK.
Wondering where people have left to (I know the normal exits but indulge me). Why they decided it was time to leave ER (sell-side). And whether the new path is better.
I worked in ER for ~5 years, made the jump to real estate/consulting.
I was actually furloughed during the pandemic, but I was actually weighing options before all of that. Should probably also say I'm a CPA as well so its a little easier to move around.
For me, it was really, I was working at smaller shops and only really wanted to continue working at bigger shops, but I wasn't able to break through. Got interview, but wasn't able to breakthough. Also, became somewhat disillusioned, in the sense, going in I thought it woudl be one way and it ended up another; basically, was doing a lot of work that didn't really add value in my opinion. Also, kind of came of age in the sense, realized people didn't care as much about what you do, so when you start to look elsewhere and the money and wlb is better elsewhere, you go elsewhere.
Also, my last firm was somewhat of a chop shop and did/does do a lot of illegal things, so I wanted to wipe my hands of the whole thing. The cool thing, at the end of the day, I still have the knowledge, and its opened a lot of doors. Also, I can now invest on my own, and going through ER really helped me understand markets.
Buyside? Business school? Investor relations? IB? Corporate finance?
Have a lot of options my friend…
Wow you had all these careers? How were they?
lol no but they’re all options obviously…
I know a guy who did all of these except investor relations. Guy from my med school a few years older.
He went from med school —> top MBA (H/S) —> IB associate —> biotech ER —> now he works at Viking / orbimed.
Seems to enjoy it. He’s getting a bag.
Jobcentre.
went to IB - the promise land
Was your experience discounted? What level did you enter?
Probably have to start as an analyst 1 with 2 years of ER exp.
I feel like Equity Research is a job that should be amazing but it really isn't, particularly as a junior. I wasted countless hours of work and sleep due to compliance being a pain in the ass. I totally understand that compliance is important but especially at the larger firms the bureaucracy of it all is eternally time consuming and brain-numbing. The hours can be difficult due to traveling, earnings, and the sentiment that you have to always be available in case a client has a question, or there is any sort of company update. Still, the worst part about the job is that you're coming up with all these investment ideas and you can't do shit with them. It's like, great... I got the call on company xyz right but it doesn't matter because I am restricted from investing. The pay can actually be pretty decent. I can't really complain on that front.
I made the switch to AM and life is a lot better. I work about 40 hours a week and have no real obligation to do anything once I clock out. My investment ideas now actually are followed through on and also I don't have to kiss any clients ass. Pay at the LO could be better, when compared to a HF, but is inline with ER and should ramp meaningfully higher than ER in the long-term. I should also add that it is a lot more fun to me to research a large stock universe, than being stuck looking at the same 10-20 stocks all my life, which can be really annoying when they're all tanking and the industry is going to shit for one reason or another.
Are you working in AM in research capacity sort of like under a pm for hedge funds?
Yes.
I’m getting the feeling your industry is biotech. Aside from that, mind sharing comp?
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