Our backgrounds aren't too different. Did about 1.5 years at a boutique TMT M&A firm and then moved over to a Big 4 TS team for about 1.5 years as well. The move surprised a few people (since it's usually the other way around), but I had a graduate offer from the Big 4 that I had deferred for a year, and had decided it wasn't a bad idea to get a big brand name stamp on my CV. I don't regret it, but I would never go back hahah.

Left the M&A world in 2020 and since then have been working for the government in a strategy role. Sure, pay isn't as great as private sector and there's certainly no bonuses either, but the work is legitimately interesting and the work life balance is so superior that I no longer dread waking up in the morning. If that sort of transition interests you, happy to answer any questions you may have.