What are the Pros and Cons of working in retail?

What are some of the pros and cons of working in corporate finance for a Fortune 100 company compared to working in high finance (investment banking and consulting) besides salary?

• I will be working as a financial analyst at a Fortune 50 company starting this summer. I have a few friends that will be working in investment banking and consulting.  I know while I may be getting paid significantly less, I still will have more time off of work which leads to a better quality of life as a pro for corporate finance. Other than that, what are some other pros and cons? Some people glorify investment banking and consulting while ridiculing corporate finance but I never knew why!

• Answer:

  What you said is correct, you will likely get paid less in corporate, and you will have more time to yourself. The additional time that you have you could use to learn something new, or pick up a hobby which can improve your employability when looking for a job. Investment banking or consulting is going to be different in that you will be receiving experience in a much wider range of companies, and processes than you would if you were just working at one specific company. You will be able to see how different companies are run which is the kind of experience that many recruiters like to have in a potential hire. In my opinion it is much better to be working at a company that you care about, and truly want to work for. You will  be more willing to learn, and take on additional projects if you care about the work. It is not worth the trouble of trying to get a job at some investment bank or consulting firm, and putting in a few years if you are going to hate it. Some people will disagree with my advise but I think that if you can get a corporate job at a company that you are interested in, you should take it. Despite the fact that you may receive less pay, you will likely be a happier person working on things you care about. That is almost always better in my opinion.