Is anyone else frozen at the “upper” Associate level? Typically aged 24-30. Not here because you can’t be promoted to VP, you can, but because maybe you don’t want to be? You gotta get out somehow, but how do you leave such a highly coveted, cushy job?
In my eyes, here are your only options:
Let’s say you’re 1, maybe 2 years into a typical PE / PC associate role. You’ve done your 2 year IB stint already.
1. Stay the PE / PC course
You can inevitably be promoted to Senior Associate and subsequently VP literally if you just put your head down and twiddle your thumbs long enough. People leave, maybe get fired, group grows. Or you could even jump to another firm and get the promote that way. But essentially, if you know your way around the shop and can run a due diligence process well enough, over the course of 5-7 years tops you’re a lock to move up. However, you don’t even really like your VPs in the office that much, they’re chotches. And the directors are stressed, busier than ever, and never see their families. So do you want to stick around? Can you do this forever?
2. Get your MBA
A lot of different opinions here. But the opportunity cost is huge. Not to mention 6 figure tuition. Could be a good way to meet future founders / partners / a network. Potentially shift career path a bit, shoot for a higher paying gig afterwards. Though will the MBA degree hold weight over time, especially those not called Harvard / Stanford / Wharton, etc?
3. Go Corporate - Corp Dev / FP&A / Chief of Staff / etc, including startups
Interesting trade off given likely a better WLB. Lower pay, better hours. Maybe a little equity in the company if early enough. Simple life. Friendlier people. Potentially making more of a difference versus just being a cog. But once you go corporate, can you ever go back to the institutional side? What if comp doesn’t equate to much? What if you realize you actually liked PE, are you stuck here?
4. Join a HF / VC / go back to IB
Probably higher comp generally here. But potentially worse hours? More stress? Going back to IB sounds awful, despite knowing they would want you (they always need bodies). VC would be cool, but SF isn’t ideal and good luck schmoozing your way in east coast. HF, could your skillset even be a fit here? Seen it done before but rare
5. ETA / Search Fund
This is the route I took and it’s somewhat binary. It either works or it doesn’t, and for me it did not. If it works, you’re looking at an enjoyable lifestyle business all the way up to a future billion dollar buyout from PE rollout in your category. If it doesn’t work, you’re out a good chunk of change, lost some dignity, out of institutional finance for a period of time, and hunting for a job again. Also, raising money sucks.
6. Start a Business
Quite challenging despite vibe coding / AI making everything more and more possible with some sleight of hand. No one’s telling you when to get up, what to do, when to work, which direction to go, or who to hire. You’re HR, Sales, Marketing, Accounting, Ops, and everything in between. May need some initial capital. Everyone will say your idea is shite and leaving your cushy gig is a mistake. The upside is enormous though. And it’s fulfilling as hell. Creating something that’s yours, it’s pretty powerful.
7. Pack it up, travel full time, move to Bali?
Maybe we’ve missed the point altogether. The grind never ends does it? What if we took a backpack and up and left. Touched grass. Go find a surf break way outside our usual stomping grounds. Live minimally and frugally. Kick off some side projects. Maybe work as a barista or bartender locally. At this point making $1 more means nothing to you, just looking to live life. But just like everyone else, I have my own set of excuses here, like friends, family, pets, mortgages. Up and leaving is a far off daydream.
If anyone is in this boat - stuck wondering what to do next, or maybe has already navigated through this period to greener pastures, I’d love to hear thoughts. Cheers
Based on the most helpful WSO content, navigating a mid-level career freeze, especially at the "upper" Associate level, is a common challenge. Here’s a breakdown of your options with insights from similar discussions:
1. Stay the PE/PC Course
2. Get Your MBA
3. Go Corporate (Corp Dev/FP&A/Chief of Staff)
4. Join a HF/VC/Go Back to IB
5. ETA/Search Fund
6. Start a Business
7. Pack it Up, Travel Full-Time
Key Takeaways:
Many WSO users emphasize that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. The key is to align your next move with your long-term goals and values.
Sources: Help. Feeling Lost, Took an Associate job at a tiny firm, how screwed am I?, Post MBA-Associate Roles: As bad as People Say?, Post MBA IB associates, how did you know you could handle the life?
What about investment roles not as intensive / competitive as PE? (SWF, FoF, Family Office)
This is probably the sweet spot for most. Have a buddy who works at a family office - diverse mandate, chill office, unlimited PTO, still in high income bracket despite the slight decrease (unlikely to have carry / equity here, so if you care about that you might have better luck at a startup). Sometimes remote even. But trajectory here is probably limited. The path to promotion / general career progression is slower. Difficult to break into strong family offices given the typically lower headcount and need to be exact culture fit. Plus headhunters take on far less of these mandates. Similar to corporate route, unlikely to return to the mega PE world, not that you’d really care to
Is the best way in networking / certain types of headhunters, or is it just luck with online postings?
Where do people typically find these family office roles? Do they come from the usual PE headhunters?
Agree with the above comment. Being an LP is paradise. See:
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/asset-management/lp-investing-is-…
I’m curious about these roles, I feel lol like they’re very rarely discussed here
I just stuck around the hoop and when one of the VPs was let go for performance I was next man up. Hope to do well and hang around the get a bigger carry allocation next fund lol
Genuinely curious, was it worth the committed time at the ASO level? Shop culture must not be all that bad?
100%, PEs been great. Solid culture at my firm, good returns, hours have been so much better than banking
In the exact same boat…
Left finance for corporate to have to free time on the side to start a business. But now I like the company so much I don’t even know if I commit to fund raise for my start up 😅 What I am now realizing is that no matter what stage of your life you’re in, there will always be tough decisions of what to do with the rest of your life
Open to sharing what kind of corporate (industry and job title) you left to? Also what kind of side business did you try to start?
MM IB to Strategy at a fast growing single-brand CPG. My entrepreneurial venture has to do with a massive international sport coming to the US (IYKYK) 🎾
8. Fractional CFO (remote) in a vertical you have expertise in. Stay in touch with asset managers, vendors, partners, investors and folks doing a spin off / start up and help them with the CFO position. Go full time with them if the opportunity arises, or stay fractional as a “hard problem, sharpshooter” expert, while picking up other clients at different stages of their company lifecycle. Build a reputation of reliability and versatility.
I would say have some operational chops, as well as be able to run a finance department and work with outside stakeholders (investors, strategic partners). A plus is being able to advise on start up management and the legal side.
Might be something you do for a period of your life: for me, after exiting a company in my 40’s, and not sure what to do next. I was burnt out; while wanting to have WLB with family and travel; and work on a long term start up idea (a creative pursuit).
I pivoted to secondaries in my early 30s. Best decision I ever made. Interesting and diverse work, but sustainable lifestyle and nice / decent humans
Any learnings / cautions you could share with us from your experience of the ETA route? Anything you wished you knew earlier?
The brush strokes are
- the social media personalities out there (Codie Sanchez, Ben Kelly, etc) paint this to be very different than it actually is, it’s much more difficult
- management / operations / strategy / leadership is a whole different ball game than excel / PPT behind the computer. Really beneficial though broadly as a person and for a career
- SBA loans at 90%+ are enticing for a buyer putting in minimal cash down but remember the basics: too much debt can crush a business
- this is a multi-year commitment and learning curve, from beginning of search to a potential exit is minimum 2-3 years, probably more like 5+. I kind of got lucky and sold at cost a couple years in before things went south. There’s financial opportunity cost in this time period
- emotional roller coaster, not for the faint hearted. You may work some nights just as much as in IB. And you wont know at the time when you’ll be able to pay yourself anything if at all
Not saying it’s not worth the pursuit, it probably is, but know there are huge risks going in. If I could go back, I’d probably start a business instead. That way I could craft the business from the beginning to what I’d want and how I’d run it, rather than trying to jump on a large sailing ship and try to re-steer it and the crew
Would just like to drop AJ Wasserstein"s articles on ETA
Very interesting stuff
I think a lot more people are in this position than you'd think, they just don't talk about it because from the outside it looks like they've "made it."
The biggest realization I had was that being capable of making VP and actually wanting the VP+ lifestyle are two completely different things. Plenty of associates aren't stuck because they're underperforming; they're stuck because they're not convinced the next rung of the ladder is worth climbing.
Of your options, corporate is probably the least irreversible one. I've seen people move to corp dev, strategy, CFO tracks, startups, etc. and some eventually make their way back to investing. It's harder, sure, but not impossible. The bigger risk is spending another 5 years in PE because you're afraid of closing a door, only to realize you never actually wanted the destination.
The MBA feels more like a tool than an answer. If you know exactly why you're going, great. If it's just a way to postpone making a decision, that's an expensive two-year timeout.
Personally, I'd frame the question differently: if comp stayed exactly where it is today, which job would you actually want to do every Monday morning for the next decade? Because a lot of us get trapped evaluating careers based on prestige and optionality rather than the day-to-day reality.
Also, I don't think the Bali/barista option is as crazy as people make it sound. Most people don't need to disappear forever. Sometimes taking a few months off creates more clarity than years of spreadsheeting career paths.
The fact that you've already tried ETA probably puts you ahead of most people having this debate. At least you tested one path instead of wondering about it forever.
you just described the golden handcuffs man. its always been this way
what's the opportunity cost
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