u/robbinh00d

Had a job offer to go back into IB or a chiller M&A Corp dev role. Corp dev paid $200k all in and M&A at the MMIB was probably going to be $300k

The MMIB was going to be 80-90 hours a week 6 days in office so I chose the Corp dev role, which is around 40 hours a week with 2 days in office.

Feeling a bit stupid. I will say the hours are chill, and I don't hate life. But, it's hard knowing I'm never going to get rich and had the other option to inevitably make far, far more.

I feel like I'm either going to need to pivot from finance to actually get rich if I don't want to work IB hours given my skillset or just accept the corp dev salary....

I'm not flexing on anyone. I made some bad decisions in my life and just feel a little stupid. I had offers at hedge funds, private equity funds, and I chose to work at the wrong place which didn't pan out. Ended up taking a break and deciding what to do next with my life, helping out the family business, and people really don't like that. So my options which were once adundant are now much more limited. Sucks. Sorry for the rant.

I built an ecommerce website for my business and I've been running Meta ads and doing Google SEO. Does anyone have any recommendations? Curious to how much you've been able to do per month online and off of how much ad spend for those having success.

I have mostly been transacting tshirts and hats at around $10k a month off of $1.5k a month of ad spend.

Started my career in M&A at a bank in New York. Seventy to eighty hours a week, all nighters, the whole thing. Toxic as hell. I did a year and a half and got out.

Went to a commodities trading house after that. Principal investing, structuring, origination, all off the balance sheet. I was there three and a half years and I crushed it. Analyst to AVP in three years. By the time I left the comp was high and honestly very fair for what I was doing. Work life balance wasn’t bad either.

But I wasn’t thankful for any of it. I was living outside the city, commuting in and out every day, and I hated it. And they wouldn’t let me anywhere near the trading arm, which was the entire reason I got into commodities in the first place. You’re either front office at that shop or you’re not, and I wasn’t. Second class citizen. That’s all I could see.

So Blackstone recruited me for private credit and I went. Moved to another state for it.

It was banking 2.0. Working until 1am every week. Couldn’t take vacation. People barking at me every thirty seconds. Same money I was making before, doing work I didn’t find interesting, for people who weren’t nice. I quit, and I’ve been floating ever since.

Here’s the part that actually gets me. I left banking convinced I hated it because of the hours. That was never it. I hated having zero control over my day and I hated the people. Nobody made me sit down and figure that out, so I never did, and then I picked my next move on brand name and a story about where I thought I was going. Walked right back into the same job with a better logo on it.

I had comp, hours and decent people all at the same time and I gave it up because I couldn’t get the title I wanted. Not being able to move into trading was a real problem. It wasn’t a fire. I could have sat there another two years getting paid and going home at 7 while I worked an angle. Instead I blew it up.

I also asked all the wrong questions on the way in. Mandate, deal flow, what kind of paper they were doing. Never asked what a normal Tuesday looks like or who I’d actually be sitting under. That’s what got me.

Anyway. If you’re somewhere that pays you fairly and leaves you alone on weekends and just isn’t the exact seat you pictured, be careful. And if you’re leaving somewhere because you’re miserable, get specific about what’s making you miserable first, because otherwise you’ll do what I did.

Was working J1 but was bored and wasn't really learning anything. $150k fully remote.

Got a job offer for a J2, $205k and hybrid 2 days in office.

Went to resign from J1, my boss and I ended up just agreeing to keep me on as a contractor for 2/3 of my salary with the full transparency that I would be working J2.... seems to really have worked out in my favor.

Just worried I will be able to work both jobs effectively but time will tell!

Was in energy and infrastructure investing during arguably the hottest period the sector has ever seen. Got burnt out, left last year to take over the family business, and thought I could always find my way back.

A year later, I’ve sent what feels like a million applications and can’t get back into an investing seat.

Don’t be me. Don’t fumble the bag because you’re burnt out or frustrated with where you are in the moment. Try to see the forest through the trees. Sometimes you don’t realize how good an opportunity was until the door closes behind you.

CEO actually forced me to put Job on LinkedIn and also added me onto site management team Immediately. I'd assume he is super privy to OE? Fuck

Any thoughts on Stifel IBD in 2025?

I am in a very fortunate position to have an IB offer and a Corp dev offer. I've done IB before and burnt out hard, but miss the money. The IB offer is an associate 2 offer and is roughly double what the other offer is.

I know this sounds crazy, but, there's a part of me that is embarrassed to admit, I really don't want to work in IB. But that fact also kind of messes with my head. I almost feel like a failure for admitting that. Why wouldn't I want to make more money? Why wouldn't you sacrifice 80 hour weeks for an additional $200k...

Obviously, this is an internal struggle but curious to your thoughts, because I am clearly incapable.

I am in a very fortunate position to have an IB offer and a Corp dev offer. I've done IB before and burnt out hard, but miss the money. The IB offer is an associate 2 offer and is roughly $400k all in. Whereas the Corp dev offer is in my hometown and is roughly $205k all in.

I know this sounds crazy, but, there's a part of me that is embarrassed to admit, I really don't want to work in IB. But that fact also kind of messes with my head. I almost feel like a failure for admitting that. Why wouldn't I want to make more money? Why wouldn't you sacrifice 80 hour weeks for an additional $200k...

Obviously, this is an internal struggle but curious to your thoughts, because I am clearly incapable.

Supposed to be relocating for a job tomorrow that is going to more than double my income.

Laying here with my girlfriend thinking in my head.... fuck.... was this worth it.

Did I really need to double my income....

I couldn't been patient and tried to find a job that pays better in Miami. I tried for 7 months. Applied to every single one. Nothing. So I accepted something out of state.

Now I'm sitting here wondering if I was impulsive. If I was operating out of a scarcity mindset. That I should've been patient and tried to make it work where I was.

But then I think to myself. Well, you did. You applied to every job for 7 months.

I'm just scared. Irritated. A little mad at myself for potentially being inpatient and not looking longer.

Supposed to be relocating for a job tomorrow that is going to more than double my income.

Laying here with my girlfriend thinking in my head.... fuck.... was this worth it.

Did I really need to double my income....

I couldn't been patient and tried to find a job that pays better in Miami. I tried for 7 months. Applied to every single one. Nothing. So I accepted something out of state.

Now I'm sitting here wondering if I was impulsive. If I was operating out of a scarcity mindset. That I should've been patient and tried to make it work where I was.

But then I think to myself. Well, you did. You applied to every job for 7 months.

I'm just scared. Irritated. A little mad at myself for potentially being inpatient and not looking longer.

I work directly for the CEO of my company and am publicly on the company website. I assume this makes it very difficult for me to be OE given someone can just google my name? I assume he did this on purpose but just looking for opinions.

Long story short, I left my private equity job to start a company, and it did not go as well as I hoped.

My background is in investment banking and private equity. I was successful in both, but I never really loved the work.

After about a year of entrepreneurship, I received an offer to return to investment banking with expected compensation of roughly $400,000 to $500,000. Given my circumstances, it is obviously a very strong offer and one that would be difficult to walk away from.

The problem is that I still do not love the industry. I would be going back almost entirely for the money.

I am 31, and the older I get, the more I question whether I should continue down a path I already know I do not enjoy. I am much more interested in private wealth management, particularly the relationship-building, business development, and long-term client aspects of the job.

At the same time, I have no existing book, I am struggling to even land a good PWM role, and I understand that it could take years before I earn anything close to what I could make in banking.

How do you justify walking away from $400,000 to $500,000 of compensation to start building a PWM career from scratch

My path.... banking -> niche investment role (where I should have stayed forever - I fucked up leaving) -> mega fund private credit. MF private credit role was a horrible experience and I did not thrive. Left last year to help out with the family business.

Well, I miss finance. I miss the earnings and I actually miss the intensity.

Been recruiting but the only thing I got was an associate role at an MMIB. It pays very well, and it's an offer. However, I need to relocate.

I recruited for 6 months and only procured ONE offer. This banking offer. I can't decide on whether I should keep recruiting or take the solid bird in hand.... and figure it out from there.

To be honest I'm also scared shitless of going back to banking hours.

~7 years in finance (banking, then buyside). Left a little over a year ago to run my own thing. Started recruiting to come back about 6 months ago.

The search has been brutal. Wide net, lots of processes, exactly one offer: IBD associate at a solid MM bank in the industry group I actually know. Pays very well ($400K+ all-in). Hours will be banking hours.

The honest problem: I don’t want to be a banker or work 80 hours a week.

But after 6 months and one converted offer, I have to ask myself if the market is telling me something. My fear if I take it: I’m miserable, leave in 2 years, and now my resume reads as another short stint. My fear if I don’t: I keep searching from a resume gap that’s growing, and this turns out to have been the best bid I ever get.

For those who’ve been on either side of this: is a “wrong role type” seat at good comp a bridge back to the buyside, or a trap? Would you take it?

Very thankful to have two options to return to finance.

One is 40 hours @ 170k vs 80 hours @ $400-450k

I've worked in banking before. Didn't love it but miss the money. Am currently making no money so it sounds really good.

One is strategic finance at a startup the other is an associate 2 in M&A IBD

Also, it's kind of awkward. The higher job offer really wants me and I'm kind of slow to the draw.

MERCHOS.IO

Are you a screen printing, embroidery, or custom apparel company like me?

Then you know the problem: you need a real ecommerce site — full catalog, product customization, decoration options, quoting — and your options are a Shopify build that can’t handle our industry, or paying a developer $40k–$100k and hoping they get it right.

I went down both roads. Neither worked. So I built it myself for my own shop, and now I’m launching it as a platform: MERCHOS.IO

Quick note for anyone who saw my first post: there were still some kinks back then. We’ve worked through them and we’re pretty much at launch now — so jump in, play around with the store, create some free company stores for your clients, set up your landing page, and let me know what you think.

The full enterprise version is free during beta. Once you sign up, just go to Account and switch to Enterprise — it won’t ask for credit card info. Every platform feature unlocked:

• Full storefront — your entire catalog, customers design and customize items directly on your site
• CRM + order panel — every customer and order captured automatically
• Stripe payments — straight to your bank account
• Production calendar — schedule and manage every order
• Quoting calculator — setup charges, price breaks, decoration costs built in
• Unlimited free company stores — on your own subdomain for the teams, schools, and businesses you work with. Upload their products, send the link, they order directly.

Coming soon: custom domains, so your store can live on your own URL (like www.yourshop.com) instead of a subdomain.

Setup takes a little work to get right for your shop:

1. Connect Stripe in the app (quick and straightforward)
2. Add your S&S and SanMar API keys to pull in your pricing and products — easy to get from both suppliers, and we’ve pre-seeded 200+ styles already
3. Set your pricing, shipping, and settings
4. Upload your logo, branding, and portfolio images

Genuinely looking for feedback: what would make or break this for your shop? What did your current setup get wrong?

Happy to answer anything in the comments.

Are you a screen printing, embroidery, or custom apparel company like me?

Then you know the problem: you need a real ecommerce site — full catalog, product customization, decoration options, quoting — and your choices are basically a Shopify build that can’t handle our industry, or paying a developer $40k–$100k and hoping they get it right.

I went down both roads. Neither worked. So I built it myself for my own shop, and now I’m launching it as a platform: MERCHOS.IO Live example of what your store could look like: printexww.merchos.io

What’s in it: • Full storefront — your entire catalog, customers design/customize items directly on your site • Built-in CRM + order panel — every customer and order captured automatically • Stripe payments — straight to your bank account • Production calendar — schedule and manage every order • Quoting calculator — setup charges, price breaks, decoration costs baked in • Free company stores — unlimited stores on your own subdomain for the teams, schools, and businesses you work with. Upload their products, send the link, they order directly.

We’re in beta — signup and free company stores are live now.

I’m not selling anything here. I run a shop and this problem drove me crazy for years.

Genuinely looking for feedback: what would make or break this for your shop? What did your current setup get wrong?

Happy to answer anything in the comments.

Are you a screen printing, embroidery, or custom apparel company like me?

Then you know the problem: you need a real ecommerce site — full catalog, product customization, decoration options, quoting — and your choices are basically a Shopify build that can’t handle our industry, or paying a developer $40k–$100k and hoping they get it right.

I went down both roads. Neither worked. So I built it myself for my own shop, and now I’m launching it as a platform: MERCHOS.IO Live example of what your store could look like: printexww.merchos.io

What’s in it: • Full storefront — your entire catalog, customers design/customize items directly on your site • Built-in CRM + order panel — every customer and order captured automatically • Stripe payments — straight to your bank account • Production calendar — schedule and manage every order • Quoting calculator — setup charges, price breaks, decoration costs baked in • Free company stores — unlimited stores on your own subdomain for the teams, schools, and businesses you work with. Upload their products, send the link, they order directly.

We’re in beta — signup and free company stores are live now.

I run a shop and this problem drove me crazy for years. Genuinely looking for feedback: what would make or break this for your shop? What did your current setup get wrong?

Happy to answer anything in the comments.

1. I left wallstreet to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors
2. Said entrepreneurial endeavors didn't pan out as I had hoped for
3. I got a job contracting for a $50mm healthcare startup
4. CEO asked me to come on full time for let's say $200k a year while allowing me to pursue said entrepreneurial endeavors
5. Id like to return back to finance

I spoke to a recruiter today who said I stay employed by the startup I am cooked

Do I ask the CEO to make me a contractor and be transparent about wanting to return back to traditional finance? Or do I just recruit while being transparent about my story. I'd hate to give up six figures of income to MAYBE land back in what I was doing, at the same tome, it makes my story quite a bit messier

I was in a front office finance position