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MITREs Glassdoor rating is like a ski slope.
The past 24 hours
Anyone else into Bank Bonus churning?
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It sometimes takes longer than anticipated / hoped for to go in house so I say start applying now and you may be a 5th year or even 6th before you land the right role for you.
can I please DM you?
There is not in my experience. If anything waiting could postpone your promotion because you will have to wait at least a couple years before you can get promoted once you’re in-house anyways.
ACC2: sure. But that is rarer and relies a lot on RSUs. OP could also get promoted to partner at the firm and make $3M/year but that’s rarer.
Generally speaking, though, the firm is going to pay (a lot) more, especially when you’re talking about delaying a promotion for year or two.
You’re going to take a decent cut from 6th year law firm comp, so I wouldn’t base it on what you’re making at the firm.
You’ll be at a disadvantage because the people that went in as 4th years will be more competitive than you as a 6th year when you’re going for 6th year roles and so are they.
No. You're going to take a cut and the difference in salary will be much larger the longer you're at a firm.
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Generally speaking, more time at a firm won’t make you more competitive for higher paying in-house jobs. The issue is sort of two fold. First, more senior roles that pay more will start to require in-house experience. Second, more senior roles tend to get more generalized and require a broader skill set than most firm roles. So staying at a firm longer usually means you’re going to be competing for the same types of in-house roles you’d likely be looking at as a 4-6th year associate. If you want to make more money, stay in big law. If you want to maximize your in-house career and competitiveness for more senior in-house roles, jump as a mid-level and start building the type of resume needed for senior in-house positions.
you almost certainly won’t come out with a higher starting salary in-house based on a couple years and this competitive market (partners are willing to take entry roles in some circs), but you will have more money in your bank account overall which is a benefit lol
It depends on your practice area, and the skill sets and subject matter expertise you will be bringing in-house. There are some in-house roles for which you need the senior associate-level skills to work independently and add value in-house. If you are a deal lawyer, you are unlikely to need the senior associate-level skills you'll miss out on gaining in the firm (because in-house you will likely be doing commercial contracts, not leading acquisitions...unless you are a pubco M&A lawyer and want to do strategic acquisitions in-house, then having the senior associate skills would be helpful). As someone who was in litigation and then FCPA investigations in my biglaw life, I stayed through my 9th/10th year and really cannot imagine having only 4th year level experience to bring in-house for leading investigations start to finish through remediation and for giving anticorruption law compliance advice (relevantly, many junior level in-house investigations roles are not even filled by lawyers, lawyers manage non-lawyer compliance professionals).
4th year is a good time but I feel like if you are 6th year, it might be good to wait another year for more senior counsel roles that are usually 8 YOE
Career-wise? Not really. Your comp probably won’t be much higher than someone with 4-5 years. But someone who made it 6 years at market comp vs. 4 will have had the chance to save a lot more early on, so even if the person from your class year who went in at four gets their in-house promotion a bit sooner you’ll probably have slightly more in the bank.
Really, the biggest question is are you ready financially to make a change where your pay will be affected. Are you living beneath your means? Have you paid off student loans (if that applies)? The more open you can be as you start to pursue an in-house role means you can listen to your gut if you only have one offer in month 2 of searching but you aren't totally excited about it. You can then wait until month 3-6 for the offer that really gets you excited. Just my two cents as an in-house recruiter. Good luck!