SEC Attorney vs Innovation/Strat Program Manager Forum

[Anonymous User]

I may have two job offers that could move my career in wildly different directions. I may have the following offers:

1. Attorney in the Division of Examinations at the SEC. The focus would be on adviser/company act.

2. Program Manager for Innovation/Strategy at my big 4’s global entity. The job would be internal supporting two of the five offerings we have (legal, consulting, risk, audit, and tax).

I currently do regulatory consulting for one of the big 4. I am interested in taking a position with interesting work and the potential for high compensation. I had my second kid 6 months ago, so family life is also a factor. SO is a senior associate at a vault 50-100 firm in a “lifestyle” practice (not commercial lit, M&A, etc.). She wants to make partner.

For the SEC job, I see this as a way out off the quasi-legal job I have now and into an “attorney” job. I feel this could open in-house roles, or I could go back to the big 4 with more experience once my kids are older all while working 40 hours a week instead of 65 while they are young. Not a ton of interest in moving into big law unless the firm was hours friendly. The work would be well within my wheelhouse with the ability to expand current skills.

For the Program Manager job, I see this as a way completely out of law and to solidify my consulting/program building and management skills. I think this could open the door to a FAANG program or product exit. The work here would be more outside my skill set, but would also be an opportunity to develop new skills with a good team (e.g., tech roadmapping, financial modeling). I am a little hesitant about how well I will perform at this role without having any experience with these skills.

I don’t have offers yet but would rather be prepared in case I get both. But I also can’t compare offers directly.

I want a sanity check for not just taking the SEC job if I get it/waiting to see if I get the SEC job even if I get the program manager offer. I have had an eye towards this type of SEC job for a while and would have gladly taken it at any point before I started consulting. Consulting opened my eyes up to a lot of interesting work roles out there. If so could do it all over, I would have gone for the MBA over JD. That said the SEC role still seems fantastic and anyone I have met that works at the SEC seems to love it.

Any additional insight would be appreciated. Are my views on exit opportunities realistic? Has anyone made a jump from law into something almost completely different? Where would you go if you wanted to maximize comp, work/life balance, etc.?

[Anonymous User]

I may have two job offers that could move my career in wildly different directions. I may have the following offers:

1. Attorney in the Division of Examinations at the SEC. The focus would be on adviser/company act.

2. Program Manager for Innovation/Strategy at my big 4’s global entity. The job would be internal supporting two of the five offerings we have (legal, consulting, risk, audit, and tax).

I currently do regulatory consulting for one of the big 4. I am interested in taking a position with interesting work and the potential for high compensation. I had my second kid 6 months ago, so family life is also a factor. SO is a senior associate at a vault 50-100 firm in a “lifestyle” practice (not commercial lit, M&A, etc.). She wants to make partner.

For the SEC job, I see this as a way out off the quasi-legal job I have now and into an “attorney” job. I feel this could open in-house roles, or I could go back to the big 4 with more experience once my kids are older all while working 40 hours a week instead of 65 while they are young. Not a ton of interest in moving into big law unless the firm was hours friendly. The work would be well within my wheelhouse with the ability to expand current skills.

For the Program Manager job, I see this as a way completely out of law and to solidify my consulting/program building and management skills. I think this could open the door to a FAANG program or product exit. The work here would be more outside my skill set, but would also be an opportunity to develop new skills with a good team (e.g., tech roadmapping, financial modeling). I am a little hesitant about how well I will perform at this role without having any experience with these skills.

I don’t have offers yet but would rather be prepared in case I get both. But I also can’t compare offers directly.

I want a sanity check for not just taking the SEC job if I get it/waiting to see if I get the SEC job even if I get the program manager offer. I have had an eye towards this type of SEC job for a while and would have gladly taken it at any point before I started consulting. Consulting opened my eyes up to a lot of interesting work roles out there. If so could do it all over, I would have gone for the MBA over JD. That said the SEC role still seems fantastic and anyone I have met that works at the SEC seems to love it.

Any additional insight would be appreciated. Are my views on exit opportunities realistic? Has anyone made a jump from law into something almost completely different? Where would you go if you wanted to maximize comp, work/life balance, etc.?

Wait until you see how low the SEC offer is...I declined a role with them due to pay. Granted it was a completely different role but it was low and there was no room to negotiate. I don’t see a reason to take SEC unless you potentially want to do biglaw down the line. You could move in house to a bank or a fund after but it will be a bit tougher I think. You won’t have developed corporate legal skills coming out of OCIE. Also your pay coming out of biglaw will be way higher.

I honestly would rather eat glass than be a program manager so I’m probably the wrong person to advise but the way I see it is:

Comp? Program manager since you don’t want biglaw.

Hours? Definitely SEC. It’s very chill.

Ultimately you need to ask yourself whether you want to practice as a lawyer. You’re probably not going to practice as one once you take the program manager role and maybe that’s a good thing. It seems like a lot of doors would open for you and you could have a big business role down the line. I’d rather be the client than be the lawyer.

[Anonymous User]

The SEC Exams role would definitely open up in-house positions, both legal and CCO type roles. It's very common for people to move from an attorney-adviser role in EXAMS to in-house at a private fund etc, but it would be in a regulatory type role rather than a corporate transactional role. It's also not difficult to move to big law. If you are interested in regulatory work and securities law, it's a great career path. If you're willing to move to DC you can also transfer to other divisions of the SEC pretty easily if you decide that you want to work on rulemaking or policy (transferring to the Division of Enforcement is harder but not impossible). If you don't want to be a lawyer though, then obviously take the project manager job.

To echo what the other poster said, there is a new trend in the SEC to start attorneys at the SK-11/12 level and not allow any negotiation (a few years ago it was still possible to start at SK-14), so expect starting pay to be quite low. It will go up relatively fast over 4 years until you are SK-14, but expect to start somewhere around 120-140k. However, hours will be amazing, pretty strictly 8 hours a day with very rare weekends or after-hours work, and vacation time will be respected. Once you've been there for a 4-5 years, your comp will get better and eventually be comparable to many in-house positions.

[Sad248]

I may have two job offers that could move my career in wildly different directions. I may have the following offers:

1. Attorney in the Division of Examinations at the SEC. The focus would be on adviser/company act.

2. Program Manager for Innovation/Strategy at my big 4’s global entity. The job would be internal supporting two of the five offerings we have (legal, consulting, risk, audit, and tax).

I currently do regulatory consulting for one of the big 4. I am interested in taking a position with interesting work and the potential for high compensation. I had my second kid 6 months ago, so family life is also a factor. SO is a senior associate at a vault 50-100 firm in a “lifestyle” practice (not commercial lit, M&A, etc.). She wants to make partner.

For the SEC job, I see this as a way out off the quasi-legal job I have now and into an “attorney” job. I feel this could open in-house roles, or I could go back to the big 4 with more experience once my kids are older all while working 40 hours a week instead of 65 while they are young. Not a ton of interest in moving into big law unless the firm was hours friendly. The work would be well within my wheelhouse with the ability to expand current skills.

For the Program Manager job, I see this as a way completely out of law and to solidify my consulting/program building and management skills. I think this could open the door to a FAANG program or product exit. The work here would be more outside my skill set, but would also be an opportunity to develop new skills with a good team (e.g., tech roadmapping, financial modeling). I am a little hesitant about how well I will perform at this role without having any experience with these skills.

I don’t have offers yet but would rather be prepared in case I get both. But I also can’t compare offers directly.

I want a sanity check for not just taking the SEC job if I get it/waiting to see if I get the SEC job even if I get the program manager offer. I have had an eye towards this type of SEC job for a while and would have gladly taken it at any point before I started consulting. Consulting opened my eyes up to a lot of interesting work roles out there. If so could do it all over, I would have gone for the MBA over JD. That said the SEC role still seems fantastic and anyone I have met that works at the SEC seems to love it.

Any additional insight would be appreciated. Are my views on exit opportunities realistic? Has anyone made a jump from law into something almost completely different? Where would you go if you wanted to maximize comp, work/life balance, etc.?

Wait until you see how low the SEC offer is...I declined a role with them due to pay. Granted it was a completely different role but it was low and there was no room to negotiate. I don’t see a reason to take SEC unless you potentially want to do biglaw down the line. You could move in house to a bank or a fund after but it will be a bit tougher I think. You won’t have developed corporate legal skills coming out of OCIE. Also your pay coming out of biglaw will be way higher.

I honestly would rather eat glass than be a program manager so I’m probably the wrong person to advise but the way I see it is:

Comp? Program manager since you don’t want biglaw.

Hours? Definitely SEC. It’s very chill.

Ultimately you need to ask yourself whether you want to practice as a lawyer. You’re probably not going to practice as one once you take the program manager role and maybe that’s a good thing. It seems like a lot of doors would open for you and you could have a big business role down the line. I’d rather be the client than be the lawyer.

What ballpark figures are we talking about with SEC? I thought they always paid relatively well, especially compared to other government jobs?

[Anonymous User]

I may have two job offers that could move my career in wildly different directions. I may have the following offers:

1. Attorney in the Division of Examinations at the SEC. The focus would be on adviser/company act.

2. Program Manager for Innovation/Strategy at my big 4’s global entity. The job would be internal supporting two of the five offerings we have (legal, consulting, risk, audit, and tax).

I currently do regulatory consulting for one of the big 4. I am interested in taking a position with interesting work and the potential for high compensation. I had my second kid 6 months ago, so family life is also a factor. SO is a senior associate at a vault 50-100 firm in a “lifestyle” practice (not commercial lit, M&A, etc.). She wants to make partner.

For the SEC job, I see this as a way out off the quasi-legal job I have now and into an “attorney” job. I feel this could open in-house roles, or I could go back to the big 4 with more experience once my kids are older all while working 40 hours a week instead of 65 while they are young. Not a ton of interest in moving into big law unless the firm was hours friendly. The work would be well within my wheelhouse with the ability to expand current skills.

For the Program Manager job, I see this as a way completely out of law and to solidify my consulting/program building and management skills. I think this could open the door to a FAANG program or product exit. The work here would be more outside my skill set, but would also be an opportunity to develop new skills with a good team (e.g., tech roadmapping, financial modeling). I am a little hesitant about how well I will perform at this role without having any experience with these skills.

I don’t have offers yet but would rather be prepared in case I get both. But I also can’t compare offers directly.

I want a sanity check for not just taking the SEC job if I get it/waiting to see if I get the SEC job even if I get the program manager offer. I have had an eye towards this type of SEC job for a while and would have gladly taken it at any point before I started consulting. Consulting opened my eyes up to a lot of interesting work roles out there. If so could do it all over, I would have gone for the MBA over JD. That said the SEC role still seems fantastic and anyone I have met that works at the SEC seems to love it.

Any additional insight would be appreciated. Are my views on exit opportunities realistic? Has anyone made a jump from law into something almost completely different? Where would you go if you wanted to maximize comp, work/life balance, etc.?

Wait until you see how low the SEC offer is...I declined a role with them due to pay. Granted it was a completely different role but it was low and there was no room to negotiate. I don’t see a reason to take SEC unless you potentially want to do biglaw down the line. You could move in house to a bank or a fund after but it will be a bit tougher I think. You won’t have developed corporate legal skills coming out of OCIE. Also your pay coming out of biglaw will be way higher.

I honestly would rather eat glass than be a program manager so I’m probably the wrong person to advise but the way I see it is:

Comp? Program manager since you don’t want biglaw.

Hours? Definitely SEC. It’s very chill.

Ultimately you need to ask yourself whether you want to practice as a lawyer. You’re probably not going to practice as one once you take the program manager role and maybe that’s a good thing. It seems like a lot of doors would open for you and you could have a big business role down the line. I’d rather be the client than be the lawyer.

What ballpark figures are we talking about with SEC? I thought they always paid relatively well, especially compared to other government jobs?

I was offered around $150k and I have 7-8 years of relevant experience.

[Anonymous User]

I may have two job offers that could move my career in wildly different directions. I may have the following offers:

1. Attorney in the Division of Examinations at the SEC. The focus would be on adviser/company act.

2. Program Manager for Innovation/Strategy at my big 4’s global entity. The job would be internal supporting two of the five offerings we have (legal, consulting, risk, audit, and tax).

I currently do regulatory consulting for one of the big 4. I am interested in taking a position with interesting work and the potential for high compensation. I had my second kid 6 months ago, so family life is also a factor. SO is a senior associate at a vault 50-100 firm in a “lifestyle” practice (not commercial lit, M&A, etc.). She wants to make partner.

For the SEC job, I see this as a way out off the quasi-legal job I have now and into an “attorney” job. I feel this could open in-house roles, or I could go back to the big 4 with more experience once my kids are older all while working 40 hours a week instead of 65 while they are young. Not a ton of interest in moving into big law unless the firm was hours friendly. The work would be well within my wheelhouse with the ability to expand current skills.

For the Program Manager job, I see this as a way completely out of law and to solidify my consulting/program building and management skills. I think this could open the door to a FAANG program or product exit. The work here would be more outside my skill set, but would also be an opportunity to develop new skills with a good team (e.g., tech roadmapping, financial modeling). I am a little hesitant about how well I will perform at this role without having any experience with these skills.

I don’t have offers yet but would rather be prepared in case I get both. But I also can’t compare offers directly.

I want a sanity check for not just taking the SEC job if I get it/waiting to see if I get the SEC job even if I get the program manager offer. I have had an eye towards this type of SEC job for a while and would have gladly taken it at any point before I started consulting. Consulting opened my eyes up to a lot of interesting work roles out there. If so could do it all over, I would have gone for the MBA over JD. That said the SEC role still seems fantastic and anyone I have met that works at the SEC seems to love it.

Any additional insight would be appreciated. Are my views on exit opportunities realistic? Has anyone made a jump from law into something almost completely different? Where would you go if you wanted to maximize comp, work/life balance, etc.?

Wait until you see how low the SEC offer is...I declined a role with them due to pay. Granted it was a completely different role but it was low and there was no room to negotiate. I don’t see a reason to take SEC unless you potentially want to do biglaw down the line. You could move in house to a bank or a fund after but it will be a bit tougher I think. You won’t have developed corporate legal skills coming out of OCIE. Also your pay coming out of biglaw will be way higher.

I honestly would rather eat glass than be a program manager so I’m probably the wrong person to advise but the way I see it is:

Comp? Program manager since you don’t want biglaw.

Hours? Definitely SEC. It’s very chill.

Ultimately you need to ask yourself whether you want to practice as a lawyer. You’re probably not going to practice as one once you take the program manager role and maybe that’s a good thing. It seems like a lot of doors would open for you and you could have a big business role down the line. I’d rather be the client than be the lawyer.

What ballpark figures are we talking about with SEC? I thought they always paid relatively well, especially compared to other government jobs?

I was offered around $150k and I have 7-8 years of relevant experience.

Did they at least start you at sk12? Was it for office of enforcement?

[Anonymous User]

I may have two job offers that could move my career in wildly different directions. I may have the following offers:

1. Attorney in the Division of Examinations at the SEC. The focus would be on adviser/company act.

2. Program Manager for Innovation/Strategy at my big 4’s global entity. The job would be internal supporting two of the five offerings we have (legal, consulting, risk, audit, and tax).

I currently do regulatory consulting for one of the big 4. I am interested in taking a position with interesting work and the potential for high compensation. I had my second kid 6 months ago, so family life is also a factor. SO is a senior associate at a vault 50-100 firm in a “lifestyle” practice (not commercial lit, M&A, etc.). She wants to make partner.

For the SEC job, I see this as a way out off the quasi-legal job I have now and into an “attorney” job. I feel this could open in-house roles, or I could go back to the big 4 with more experience once my kids are older all while working 40 hours a week instead of 65 while they are young. Not a ton of interest in moving into big law unless the firm was hours friendly. The work would be well within my wheelhouse with the ability to expand current skills.

For the Program Manager job, I see this as a way completely out of law and to solidify my consulting/program building and management skills. I think this could open the door to a FAANG program or product exit. The work here would be more outside my skill set, but would also be an opportunity to develop new skills with a good team (e.g., tech roadmapping, financial modeling). I am a little hesitant about how well I will perform at this role without having any experience with these skills.

I don’t have offers yet but would rather be prepared in case I get both. But I also can’t compare offers directly.

I want a sanity check for not just taking the SEC job if I get it/waiting to see if I get the SEC job even if I get the program manager offer. I have had an eye towards this type of SEC job for a while and would have gladly taken it at any point before I started consulting. Consulting opened my eyes up to a lot of interesting work roles out there. If so could do it all over, I would have gone for the MBA over JD. That said the SEC role still seems fantastic and anyone I have met that works at the SEC seems to love it.

Any additional insight would be appreciated. Are my views on exit opportunities realistic? Has anyone made a jump from law into something almost completely different? Where would you go if you wanted to maximize comp, work/life balance, etc.?

Wait until you see how low the SEC offer is...I declined a role with them due to pay. Granted it was a completely different role but it was low and there was no room to negotiate. I don’t see a reason to take SEC unless you potentially want to do biglaw down the line. You could move in house to a bank or a fund after but it will be a bit tougher I think. You won’t have developed corporate legal skills coming out of OCIE. Also your pay coming out of biglaw will be way higher.

I honestly would rather eat glass than be a program manager so I’m probably the wrong person to advise but the way I see it is:

Comp? Program manager since you don’t want biglaw.

Hours? Definitely SEC. It’s very chill.

Ultimately you need to ask yourself whether you want to practice as a lawyer. You’re probably not going to practice as one once you take the program manager role and maybe that’s a good thing. It seems like a lot of doors would open for you and you could have a big business role down the line. I’d rather be the client than be the lawyer.

What ballpark figures are we talking about with SEC? I thought they always paid relatively well, especially compared to other government jobs?

They do pay well compared to other government agencies, but you have to be there for a while before you see that higher pay. Once you've been there for around 5-7 years as an SK-14 or higher you'll be making in the 200-250k range plus significant additional pay on top of that depending on that year's raise amount. Benefits are also above other government agencies (8% TSP match vs 5% at other agencies, free dental and vision, additional supplement towards health insurance making health insurance very cheap). Starting salaries have been getting lower and lower though, so I think more recent hires aren't as happy with their comp as prior generations of SEC attorneys have been. All the divisions pay the same amounts--salaries are set on an SEC-wide level. The only variation in salaries is based on geographic location.

[Anonymous User]

I may have two job offers that could move my career in wildly different directions. I may have the following offers:

1. Attorney in the Division of Examinations at the SEC. The focus would be on adviser/company act.

2. Program Manager for Innovation/Strategy at my big 4’s global entity. The job would be internal supporting two of the five offerings we have (legal, consulting, risk, audit, and tax).

I currently do regulatory consulting for one of the big 4. I am interested in taking a position with interesting work and the potential for high compensation. I had my second kid 6 months ago, so family life is also a factor. SO is a senior associate at a vault 50-100 firm in a “lifestyle” practice (not commercial lit, M&A, etc.). She wants to make partner.

For the SEC job, I see this as a way out off the quasi-legal job I have now and into an “attorney” job. I feel this could open in-house roles, or I could go back to the big 4 with more experience once my kids are older all while working 40 hours a week instead of 65 while they are young. Not a ton of interest in moving into big law unless the firm was hours friendly. The work would be well within my wheelhouse with the ability to expand current skills.

For the Program Manager job, I see this as a way completely out of law and to solidify my consulting/program building and management skills. I think this could open the door to a FAANG program or product exit. The work here would be more outside my skill set, but would also be an opportunity to develop new skills with a good team (e.g., tech roadmapping, financial modeling). I am a little hesitant about how well I will perform at this role without having any experience with these skills.

I don’t have offers yet but would rather be prepared in case I get both. But I also can’t compare offers directly.

I want a sanity check for not just taking the SEC job if I get it/waiting to see if I get the SEC job even if I get the program manager offer. I have had an eye towards this type of SEC job for a while and would have gladly taken it at any point before I started consulting. Consulting opened my eyes up to a lot of interesting work roles out there. If so could do it all over, I would have gone for the MBA over JD. That said the SEC role still seems fantastic and anyone I have met that works at the SEC seems to love it.

Any additional insight would be appreciated. Are my views on exit opportunities realistic? Has anyone made a jump from law into something almost completely different? Where would you go if you wanted to maximize comp, work/life balance, etc.?

Wait until you see how low the SEC offer is...I declined a role with them due to pay. Granted it was a completely different role but it was low and there was no room to negotiate. I don’t see a reason to take SEC unless you potentially want to do biglaw down the line. You could move in house to a bank or a fund after but it will be a bit tougher I think. You won’t have developed corporate legal skills coming out of OCIE. Also your pay coming out of biglaw will be way higher.

I honestly would rather eat glass than be a program manager so I’m probably the wrong person to advise but the way I see it is:

Comp? Program manager since you don’t want biglaw.

Hours? Definitely SEC. It’s very chill.

Ultimately you need to ask yourself whether you want to practice as a lawyer. You’re probably not going to practice as one once you take the program manager role and maybe that’s a good thing. It seems like a lot of doors would open for you and you could have a big business role down the line. I’d rather be the client than be the lawyer.

What ballpark figures are we talking about with SEC? I thought they always paid relatively well, especially compared to other government jobs?

They do pay well compared to other government agencies, but you have to be there for a while before you see that higher pay. Once you've been there for around 5-7 years as an SK-14 or higher you'll be making in the 200-250k range plus significant additional pay on top of that depending on that year's raise amount. Benefits are also above other government agencies (8% TSP match vs 5% at other agencies, free dental and vision, additional supplement towards health insurance making health insurance very cheap). Starting salaries have been getting lower and lower though, so I think more recent hires aren't as happy with their comp as prior generations of SEC attorneys have been. All the divisions pay the same amounts--salaries are set on an SEC-wide level. The only variation in salaries is based on geographic location.

Thanks for letting us know. That is atrocious. Hopefully the other non gs agencies dont follow the same pattern.

[Anonymous User]

I may have two job offers that could move my career in wildly different directions. I may have the following offers:

1. Attorney in the Division of Examinations at the SEC. The focus would be on adviser/company act.

2. Program Manager for Innovation/Strategy at my big 4’s global entity. The job would be internal supporting two of the five offerings we have (legal, consulting, risk, audit, and tax).

I currently do regulatory consulting for one of the big 4. I am interested in taking a position with interesting work and the potential for high compensation. I had my second kid 6 months ago, so family life is also a factor. SO is a senior associate at a vault 50-100 firm in a “lifestyle” practice (not commercial lit, M&A, etc.). She wants to make partner.

For the SEC job, I see this as a way out off the quasi-legal job I have now and into an “attorney” job. I feel this could open in-house roles, or I could go back to the big 4 with more experience once my kids are older all while working 40 hours a week instead of 65 while they are young. Not a ton of interest in moving into big law unless the firm was hours friendly. The work would be well within my wheelhouse with the ability to expand current skills.

For the Program Manager job, I see this as a way completely out of law and to solidify my consulting/program building and management skills. I think this could open the door to a FAANG program or product exit. The work here would be more outside my skill set, but would also be an opportunity to develop new skills with a good team (e.g., tech roadmapping, financial modeling). I am a little hesitant about how well I will perform at this role without having any experience with these skills.

I don’t have offers yet but would rather be prepared in case I get both. But I also can’t compare offers directly.

I want a sanity check for not just taking the SEC job if I get it/waiting to see if I get the SEC job even if I get the program manager offer. I have had an eye towards this type of SEC job for a while and would have gladly taken it at any point before I started consulting. Consulting opened my eyes up to a lot of interesting work roles out there. If so could do it all over, I would have gone for the MBA over JD. That said the SEC role still seems fantastic and anyone I have met that works at the SEC seems to love it.

Any additional insight would be appreciated. Are my views on exit opportunities realistic? Has anyone made a jump from law into something almost completely different? Where would you go if you wanted to maximize comp, work/life balance, etc.?

OP, what position did you end up taking and what made it tip that direction?