What would you do? (in-house vs. continuing at firm) Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm very torn and looking for input. I am not trying to brag here and I don't assume that I will have my pick of in-house positions - I know it is very competitive. I am wondering if you were in my shoes, would you start looking for inhouse gigs or try to ride out firm life for a bit?

The facts:

-4th year corporate associate
-assigned best quality work for midlevel range
-lots of responsibility (running smaller deals) and learning a lot constantly
-my department is very busy and growing
-long hours (requires temporarily sacrificing health for job at times due to sleep deprivation)
-slightly below market pay
-$200K in student loans between my wife and I
-zero interest in partnership
-located in major market (not NYC)

Reasons for being attracted to in-house:

-more stable hours (limited late nights)
-opportunity to get to know one client in and out (I enjoy working with long-time clients most)
-less stress
-potential interest in going to business side down the road (I have some prior business experience)

What would you do? Stick it out a bit at the firm to gain more skills and a better paycheck or make the jump now?

Any input is appreciated. Thoughts behind your answer are much appreciated. More just looking for a sounding board right now.

[guano]

Money isn't everything

[TooOld4This]

Start looking. When you get an offer, then decide whether you should stay at BigLaw longer. If you see jobs that interest you, apply.

[Anonymous User]

Thank you for the input. The money and developing my skillset is what is keeping me here. That, and the prospect of proving myself again to new colleagues is a bit daunting because I have a good amount of goodwill built up at my firm.

Any additional thoughts, especially with respect to career/skill development?

[Anonymous User]

Original poster here.

Put another way, does 1 year of M&A/corporate experience = 2 years of in-house experience in terms of skills?

I realize any answer risks being an overgeneralization, but the real outstanding question in my mind is: will my career be further along in 3-5 years if I tough it out at my firm a little longer rather than going inhouse now?

My goal is to be inhouse doing corporate/transactional work for a large cap company with a sizable legal department.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry to beat this to death. I realize a lot of posters will not have insight into my question... but, one last ditch effort... any additional thoughts?