Private Equity Jobs: Every management, business, or finance graduate dreams of landing a career in private equity (PE) firms or boutique banks right after their exit their graduation.

The reason for such aspiration is due to the coveted career scope and fat paychecks. Also, private equity firms pay much better as compared to investment banking firms. Though both PE and investment banking firms are involved with managing shares of companies and placing them to investors, PE is completely an investment business while investment banking is involved in raising capital. Both share a different business model.

Here’s what you get in a private equity career:

Huge salary compensation

Professionals even without an MBA degree are said to earn around USD 264,464 per annum. Surprising? Well, most professionals have started obtaining private equity certifications. Professional certifications have proven to be beneficial for individuals since these programs teach you the most advanced level of skills required by the desired firm.

Not to mention, earning a career in PE is not a cakewalk. The field is highly competitive and PE firms explicitly tend to seek applicants with exceptional skillset or educational qualification.

The more the merrier, right? Imagine if you’ve already gained an MBA degree along with a professional certification, venturing into prestigious firms gets much easier. The paycheck would be lucrative.

Touted to be intellectually challenging as compared to investment banking

Private equity is an interesting career field wherein you’re required to directly take the risk in investing money while in investment banking, you’re merely advising other companies where and how to optimize their finances.

Besides talking in numbers, a private equity professional also needs to pitch ideas, clearly understand how the organization functions, and find potential targets that can benefit the organization. These professionals must also have great communication and personal skills which is crucial to building a solid network.

Great employ-ability rate

Job opportunities are plenty for those seeking careers as private equity associates in financial firms. according to the U.S. Department of Labor, career opportunities are likely to grow 37 percent between 2012 to 2022. Since private equity investors fall on the top of the financial food chain, they’re solely responsible for advising CEOs.

Getting hired in private equity firms are competitive since these employers can get real picky while choosing their candidates.

Lavish lifestyle

People are quite fascinated with the lifestyle of PE professionals. Since PE firms do not have clients they’re not caught up preparing last-minute presentations or working overtime. Most of the laborious tasks are being outsourced while banks do their job to find targets while also managing sale processes and acquisitions.

However, this does not mean these professionals are not capable of doing hard work. While cracking deals, you will significantly find them working overtime or staying awake during the nights. But on average hours their work-life balance is well managed.

Private equity is one such field that attracts many professionals from the management and finance sector. With time PE firms have evolved and become matured capturing the attention of many players across the world. In order to stay competitive, such firms have developed specialized industry silos that are maintained by expert professionals having in-depth experience in a selected range of businesses.

While seeking a position in PE firms can be tough, individuals have started grooming themselves by taking up private equity certifications. A successful candidate is expected to have a diverse set of skills since they will be called upon to make all types of deals, probably in operations and fundraising. Keeping themselves updated with the latest industry trend and key issues can tactfully increase their chances of getting hired quicker.