It's not easy to decide between freedom and compensation, especially when compensation leads to your ultimate freedom. Then again, freedom in a smaller firm can also lead to your ultimate freedom (if you're feeling entrepreneurial). In all but one job, I've chosen learning/freedom over compensation. The time I did choose compensation, I actually learnt a lot more than I expected. So, it taught me not to get too caught up with those preconceptions.

Above all, I think it pays (in many ways) to work for/with people that inspire you. The energy and learning opportunities inside a place where people inspire one another are worth more than any remuneration package.

In my case I've just spent the last 6 months in a small mid-market firm: less than 10 investment professionals, no 'junior staff' – the deal making 'executives' are expected to run their own numbers and/or make use of external resources (e.g. corp finance firms). In my case, I was their first 'analyst' type resource, and the identified goal was to test me out and quickly train me (1-2 years) to be a completely autonomous investment professional. The firm is reasonably democratic, with no iron-fisted ruling.

6 months in, I have been given opportunities and liberties that I would never have had elsewhere. I am often sent alone to meet management teams for the first time, and run a significant proportion of the deal-making processes (due diligence, vendor negotiations…etc), reporting back on a regular basis to the wider team for feedback. I attend board meetings at our smallest investees, and often oversee specific improvement projects.

Hours-wise however, the size of the firm does mean more work for everyone, so I probably do work 70 hours+. Salary wise I actually earnt more in my previous, non-PE role, and the firm is definitely not flush with cash – though business expenses are always reimbursed!

So my net conclusion is: small firms can be extremely rewarding from a freedom and exposure perspective. However, the effort/pay ratio can seem demoralizing.

I have since been contacted/headhunted by a 'large' fund (e.g. in the £2-5bn range), which has to remain nimble with c. 20 investment professionals. It has however been made clear that the sheer difference in the size of the investee businesses means if I join them, I will not get away with the same autonomy as before, and it would probably take 3-4 years to reach my current level again. In the meantime however, their management fee/employee ratio means they are already bandying compensation figures that are multiples of my current earnings.

The key questions swirling in my mind are exactly those you have touched upon – exposure vs training; deal size vs personalities these involve; freedom vs compensation!

I think I am therefore leaning very heavily towards doing some intensive due diligence on the bigger firm's culture!