VC vs PE - What's the better career option?

Question

I'm not sure, if I should go for working in VC or PE. Any insights or advide on how to decide?

Answer 1

Great question! VC and PE are night-and day different. Here are a few of the main elements that differ.

VC

Major Responsibilities: Skewed more toward sourcing and relationship-building. Find markets and companies that you like and building relationships with CEOs. Often a lot of emphasis on adding value post-investment as well.
Work-life Balance: Typically a bit better, but varies widely and generally still not 9-5
Compensation: Often tied to AUM and a bit lower than most PE

PE

Major Responsibilities: Skewed more toward deal execution and modeling. Some PE firms have sourcing focuses at junior levels, but most of the role will be quantiatively focused on valuation, leverage, and presenting analyses to investment committee.
Work-life Balance: Typically a bit longer hours, but varies widely
Compensation: Often tied to AUM and often higher

There are 10,000 other differences, though--let's set up a free intro session and discuss pros and cons for you specifically!

Answer 2

Having worked in both consulting and finance, I’d say the main difference is the focus. In consulting, it’s about big... (read entire answer)

Having worked in both consulting and finance, I’d say the main difference is the focus. In consulting, it’s about big-picture problem-solving, like helping a client expand into... (read entire answer)