M&A / Corporate Development

Run M&A from inside an operating company — fewer deals, deeper ownership of each one.

Hours / week: 50–65
Entry pay: $90K–$120K
Difficulty: 3/5

Typical estimates

Your readiness

A typical analyst day

9:00 AMTeam standup on active deal pipeline and integration projects
10:00 AMBuild a valuation model for a potential acquisition target
11:30 AMCall with a target company's management team
1:00 PMLunch with a business-unit leader to understand strategic fit for a deal
2:30 PMCoordinate due diligence workstreams with legal, finance, and HR
4:00 PMPresent deal progress to senior leadership
5:30 PMCheck in on integration milestones for a deal that closed last quarter

The job, honestly

Corporate development teams sit inside an operating company and lead its acquisitions, divestitures, and strategic partnerships. The work blends banking-style valuation and deal execution with a much longer relationship to the outcome — you often help integrate the company you just bought.

Pros

Noticeably better work-life balance than banking or PE, with more predictable hours
You see the full deal lifecycle, including integration — not just signing and walking away
Direct exposure to a company's overall strategy, not just financial engineering
A natural, well-understood exit path from banking

Cons

Far fewer deals per year than banking or PE, so reps and learning speed build more slowly
Deal pace is set by corporate strategy, not pure deal-making — can mean long stretches of quiet
Compensation ceiling is generally lower than banking or PE (no carried interest)
Team size and headcount are usually small, limiting role variety early on

Recruiting roadmap

Junior
- Target company internship programsJAN–JUNApply to finance or strategy internships at operating companies with active corporate development teams.
Senior
- Full-time applicationsComing upAUG–DECCorporate development hiring is less structured than banking — watch individual company career pages and apply on a rolling basis.
Career switcher
- Lateral from banking or consultingJAN–DECMost corp dev hires come laterally from 2-4 years in banking or consulting — recruiting happens year-round via referrals and recruiters.

Career ladder

Corporate Development Analyst0-3 years · $105K–$150K
Manager3-6 years · $140K–$200K
Senior Manager / Director6-10 years · $180K–$280K
VP of Corporate Development10-15 years · $250K–$400K
Head of Corporate Development / CFO track15+ years · $350K–$700K

Typical estimates of total pay.

Where people go next

Investment BankingLess common, but some move to banking for broader deal exposure.
Private EquityOperating-company diligence experience translates reasonably well to PE.

Skills and topics

Valuation and deal modeling
Cross-functional project management
Strategic thinking tied to a company's long-term plan
Negotiation
Post-merger integration planning

1
Accounting Fundamentals
Lesson Practice
2
The 3 Statements
Lesson Practice
3

Interview questions

Why corporate development instead of banking or private equity?
A strong answer emphasizes wanting ownership of the full deal lifecycle — including integration — and a long-term relationship with one company's strategy, not just transaction execution.
Walk me through how you'd value a potential acquisition target.
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What makes post-merger integration hard?
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How would you prioritize which acquisition targets to pursue?
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Resources

Books

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities — Donald DePamphilis
The Synergy Trap — Mark Sirower

Podcasts

M&A Science

Daily reading

The target company's own investor-relations filings
Trade press for the acquirer's industry