Top Law Schools

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.

Money isn't everything

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

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?

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.

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?