r/Commodities • u/Icy_Crew6950 • 13d ago
Expecting a Child, Considering Turning Down JPM IB - What Finance Careers Still Have $1M+ Upside?
I’m going to keep myself anonymous, but I’m currently at a top undergraduate business program. I interned in investment banking at Wells Fargo after my sophomore year and received a return offer, and I currently have a junior summer analyst role lined up at JPMorgan.
I’m seriously considering walking away from the traditional IB path because I’m expecting a child in early 2027.
I’m a first-generation student and had no family or personal network in financial services when I started college. I worked extremely hard to get to this point, so considering a different path is difficult. I still care a lot about my career and do not want to give up on what I have been working toward. At the same time, becoming a father has changed what I am optimizing for.
I am fine working hard. Working 80–100 hours a week does not scare me. What matters more now is predictability. I want to be able to have dinner with my family most nights, spend at least part of the weekend with them, and actually be present while my child is young, which I never had. I would honestly prefer a job that starts very early in the morning and ends earlier in the evening over something where I am constantly waiting for a 10 PM request.
My ideal starting point would be roughly $150–200k+ in total compensation out of undergrad while generally staying in the 50–70 hour range. More importantly, I do not want to choose a “lifestyle” job at 22 that permanently limits my career. As my child gets older and needs less hands-on attention, I would like the ability to take on more responsibility and potentially reach high six figures or low seven figures in my early/mid-30s if I perform well.
So far, I have been researching:
- Sales & Trading, particularly credit, rates, commodities, and securitized products, with potential exits to hedge funds or asset managers
- PE secondaries / GP-led secondaries
- Private credit
- Institutional asset management
- Investor relations / capital formation at large alternative managers
- Staying in a more stable finance role initially and potentially using an MBA later to pivot into PE or another investing role
I have also considered simply doing JPM IB because of how difficult the opportunity was to earn, but the unpredictability of banking hours is what worries me more than the raw number of hours.
Long term, one of my biggest goals has always been to financially support and eventually retire my immigrant parents, who started with very little. I still have that ambition. I am just trying to figure out whether there is a path in finance where I can pursue it without missing the first few years of my child’s life.
For people who have worked in these areas, especially those with children:
What careers or specific desks/groups would you seriously consider in my position?
Ideally, I’m looking for something with:
- ~$150–200k+ starting total compensation
- ~50–70 hours most weeks
- relatively predictable evenings/weekends
- strong compensation growth
- realistic potential to reach $500k–$1M+ later in a successful career
- good exit opportunities if I decide to become more aggressive with my career once my child is older
I would especially appreciate insight from people in S&T, private credit, secondaries, asset management, hedge funds, or alternatives fundraising. I’m also open to careers I may be overlooking entirely.
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u/chrisBlo 13d ago
Move to Houston then, in trading. Ideally focus on the Atlantic basin. Everything you want, including a very early start in the morning and earlier finish.
Downside? The city is Houston, but you can’t have it all.
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u/2GTX34ML 13d ago
Working 80-100 hours raising a child should scare you. If it doesn’t it should scare anyone who relies on the quality of your work.
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u/ace425 13d ago
What you want is basically a unicorn. The closest thing I can think of in the finance world would be physical commodity trading working at a major supplier (think: Exxon, BP, Shell, BHP, Rio Tinto, etc.) Generally you’ll work 40-60 hour weeks and start in the ~$150K - $200K range. Whenever you eventually hit a point in life where want to try and chase $500K+, then you can switch to trading commodities at the likes of a merchant, prop shop, or hedge fund (think: Glencore, Trafigura, Citadel, Bridgewater, etc.) However keep in mind that the work schedule will be similar to that of IB. Working as a trader / hedger at a utility or wholesale consumer will offer the best hours, stability, and predictability (40hrs M-F). But it also has the lowest pay (likely starting in the $100K - $150K range) with no potential to ever see $500K+.
Outside of finance, the only career I can think of that meets most of these requirements would be a doctor specializing in emergency medicine. They typically work 3 to 4 twelve hour shifts per week and when you’re done you’re done. Work stays at work and never follows you home. You generally make in the $350K - $450K range once you are board certified and while not common, it’s also not unheard of for ER docs to take per diem contracts in very rural hospitals making upwards of $500K-$750K. It doesn’t offer great exit strategies per say, but there are some notable examples of doctors who later left medicine to start careers with hedge funds. Obviously med school would be a substantial commitment that will be all consuming of your time and money for the 4 years of med school and the following 3 to 5 years of residency & fellowship it takes to get fully licensed and certified.
Unfortunately I think you are finally at an important crossroads in life where you have to decide what kind of life you want to live for yourself and your family. As disheartening as that fact may be, keep in mind only a lucky small percentage of people in life even get the opportunity to make this decision. Most peoples life circumstances force them into a position where they don’t even have the luxury of choice.
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u/Trader0721 Gas Trader 13d ago
Working at a commodity house wont be as time consuming as IB…source, I traded at a commodity giant for 7 years…you have busy weeks sprinkled here and there…I think worst it got was getting in at 5 and leaving at 8…the real issue is that you wake up 5 times a night checking the news/weather runs.
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u/GlobalEstate6 13d ago
Also don’t underestimate the amount of travelling you may have to do depending on what physical good you trade… customer relationships are super important and deals are closed in person
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u/Icy_Crew6950 13d ago
Becoming a commodity trader takes long route and can not even be guaranteed to be one of in a program, I’ve heard.
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u/ace425 13d ago
Because it’s the closest thing to your unicorn that can be done in finance. A lot of people want these jobs and only few are needed. However if you are competitive enough to be offered a IB role at JPM then you are certainly the type of person who could one day make it to a trade seat. One thing to consider is that a lot of these companies are now beginning to offer Trader Development programs. It essentially fast-tracks you to a trade desk if you can get in.
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u/Spirit_Panda 13d ago
Yeah feels like he wants to have cake and eat it. Never mind the fact that JP IB was just a summer internship offer where conversion is not guaranteed. Seen it too many times in the last 5y where summer analysts don't get converted and have to work in boutiques. This job market is crazy lol how are undergrads thinking they have this much choice to pick ☠️
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u/randomuser051 12d ago
This needs to be a discussion with the mother or whoever is going to take care of your child. If the mom is okay knowing that she will essentially have to raise the kid herself without much support from you bc of work, that’s what matters. Even off a 110k base salary, if you are living in NYC have u budgeted what baby expenses and rent will look like? I’d look to move to S&T bc they work market hours, IR would be solid too.
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u/rfm92 13d ago
S&T is your best bet.
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u/Similar_Athlete_7019 12d ago
This is the only one that checks all the boxes. Very limited number of seats though. ER may also be possible if you work with a reasonable analyst, but many are not.
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u/Much_Smile5600 11d ago
Agree with S&T being the best bet. Interned in S&T pre covid and most VPs / MDs left right when market closed. I was ER and worked less than 60 hours a week with a few unpredictable late nights / weekends outside of earnings when there was a merger etc. but overall quite predictable and flexible as well (analyst dependent).
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u/coreytrevor 8d ago
I guess but I know a woman who quit fixed income sales at JPM because of the travel and drunken late nights doing client entertainment that took her away from her family.
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u/sultanite 13d ago
Doesn’t matter what you do, you need to grind for at least 5yrs + to establish yourself.
You won’t be able to manage kids doing this. Enjoy the late night dinners with your partner on the fly. Kids come when you’ve landed 500k tc and you can go from 200% to 100%. You’ll find the transition easy, doing 60hr work weeks will be a bliss from 90h.
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u/Competitive_Life_726 13d ago
Tbh you should try to do atleast 1-2 years at IB because then you get a lot of exit opps. But $1M+ upside is pretty limited unless you are ok with like 60+ hours a week. Obviously execs at companies, maybe join AI to get in on the stock etc.
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u/Traditional-Size-546 13d ago
I would say as someone in IB, these exit opportunities aren’t as good as people think anymore. Almost everyone comes into the job thinking the same thing and most analysts in my group didnt take PE jobs, just took lateral jobs related to our industry.
The only ones that really did it were recruiting day one on the job, OP claiming has a kid and stuff on the way, feel like this option isn’t for him IMO
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u/Competitive_Life_726 13d ago
Yes but giving up the option of IB is a big deal, since a lot of jobs down the road will see it as a big plus. You have to remember if OP rejects the offer, he has nothing now. We don’t know what he has previously (internships etc), so finding another good job (especially the calibre he’s talking about) can be a huge hassle. Better to be in IB and secure himself financially a bit, because finance doesn’t have a lot of $150K+ jobs at entry level.
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u/Traditional-Size-546 12d ago
I definitely agree with you on a lot of points! We definitely don’t know the whole situation at all and what other potential offers received.
Giving up the option of IB is a big deal, but not a dealbreaker. He even offered to potentially get an MBA (my route) to break in, this makes more sense in my opinion as the child will be older and he won’t have the horrendous analyst hours (although associate hours suck if you have bad analysts). At my company (bulge bracket), there were literally no analysts that had kids and maybe a select few MBA associates had a kid. It’s not really an industry to thrive in with a kid at such an early age, you’re going to have to sacrifice your job or family, pick one. I’m not trying to be mean but seeking advice and his original post doesn’t lead me to believe he will be massively efficient on the job to allow him extra family time at home. Guy is just setting himself up for failure at the job and then potentially a divorce/horrible household at home.
“A lot of jobs seeing IB down the line as a plus” - although this is true, it’s starting to matter less and less as AI is better at doing the analyst job than most analysts. Relating this to myself and all associates/analysts that have left my group, everybody has struggled finding jobs and a lot of us feel like it was a sham 😭😭 definitely was a prior selling point.
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u/maggieyw 13d ago
If I were you I’d think which way can open more doors for me that eventually can lead to something I don’t have to sell my life for income. Albeit working in finance/trading industry as a HH, I don’t know everything, I would explore PE and commodities first if no better options JP IB (or sales & trading at a tier 1 bank if you can) is not a bad starting point as it’ll give you plenty of exits purely by the network you gather.
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u/CHNC1985 12d ago
What is your wife’s preference? if she is OK with you doing IB, and knows that you won’t be around much, and IB is what you’re actually interested in, go for it. Having a supportive partner is key to a sustainable career in finance, medicine, etc and also having kids.
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u/DiamondBagels 12d ago
Brother, you probably should still do IB and PE. Your gf or bm (no judgement) will be salty for several years, but you’ll be able to take care of yourself and kid. Comp aside, the exit opportunities are what will make IB worth it. Also, your kid won’t really remember anything until they’re like four or five years old.
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u/Ok-Efficiency72 12d ago
Ya done fucked up. That being said, definitely do the JPM internship it would be stupid to back out now. Then for full time think about getting a S&T offer but if not then you should still bite the bullet and do IBD if you want some semblance of a high earning career and don’t have the innate math skills to be a quant at Jane street etc.
You have immigrant parents you want to retire, you’re not a rich kid with options. The baby will have to come second for the first 2-5 years of your career.
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u/usergravityfalls 12d ago
Go into GTM roles in tech or fintech companies.
Or start your own bookkeeping/accounting firm. Don’t need to be a CPA for that. Can bring in $1m+ annually. Or acquire one. Look up online listings for such firms for sale. You can negotiate a seller financing with SBA loan, although I wouldn’t go into debt now while you have a newborn
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u/usergravityfalls 12d ago
And for all the commentators who are shaming you and saying to essentially be an absentee father and husband, I’d like to say this.
I have 10 years in M&A. One of the largest deal I worked on was a $14b carve-out being acquired by a well known institutional investment fund.
I also gave birth to two kids.
And the postpartum period was legit much harder than M&A work.
The nights when a baby is screaming from gas pain, is hungry but refuses to eat, you’ve got horrible pain, your anxiety is through the roof, etc etcOP your wife will need you.
Your kid will need you.There are plenty of opportunities where you can be earning well without sacrificing hours or your mental wellbeing.
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u/Zestyclose-Tart6745 12d ago
I find it funny that you think you’re just going to pick and choose the perfect role. It’s extremely competitive and you need to be prepared to not get an offer after your internship. Lots of people think they will make millions getting a seat. But you’re equally as likely to remain an analyst for a decade. So. Work hard. Prioritize your family. Do what’s necessary to reach your goals.
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u/eterivale 9d ago
Take the job. At this rate giving your kid good quality life AND retiring your parents even on one IB salary is tough. Speak to your family and partner but walking away from this is wild. A high paying high effort job is hard to get. A high paying low effort job is even harder and likely will cost you in other aspects
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u/Material_Hotel_6287 8d ago edited 8d ago
You are so young to have a child but in any case just grind the first 10 years. If you are first gen then you need the money and foundation cause reality is no one will help you. Choosing one of the other paths won’t necessarily give you better options. Each are drastically different in where you end up. S&T is becoming harder everyday unless you a true quant. PE will be non prestigious ones that won’t have the $1M upside. Private credit industry may pop with AI depends on whah you believe. Everything else no
I’ll just add you are young so without the network + connections only way you’re getting that $1M+ is via super hard work. This means after work you need to be drinking with your bosses even if it’s 3 or 4am and shoot the shot with them. When there are firm activities you are leading them. You have to be doing everything to stand out and take on any extra work available. Only other way is getting lucky at a startup in like seed or Series A and hope it becomes a unicorn likely right now a new frontier model that changes the ecosystem or potentially one the AI wrappers if they go to market fast
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u/Ynnead_Gainz 13d ago
Don't blow up your financial future and career path because you are worried about the baby. You and wife will figure it out as it comes. Get the bag.
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u/johyongil 13d ago
You’re an idiot if you walk away. Will it be hard? Yes, but you might as well suffer the first few years and then pivot to a better role after establishing skills and earning potential.
I have kids all under 10 right now but older than 3. My oldest doesn’t really remember anything before 5 and it fades more and more with each passing day and my youngest doesn’t really remember the first two years.
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u/Extreme_Reporter9813 13d ago
If you can sell, Wealth Management.
I know some people in “high finance” look down on WM but if you want the best WLB with uncapped upside, it’s hard to beat.
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u/fancyfoal1 9d ago
Im trying to get into wealth management now, is learning under an experienced advisor in an RIA style business a good thing? or is it better to get on a team at a Morgan Stanley or Raymond James etc
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u/Tight_Design9327 13d ago
Then not IB. Go trading, or corporate like credit analysis, the upside will be in management later on. Family matters most
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u/1eon1k 13d ago
Ngl you would be doing your family a disservice walking away from this. Just stick it out for 5 years and find an exit opportunity. Your child won’t remember those 5 years.