I’d say a lot of young lawyers in big 4 firms are itching to prove themselves in international firms. More glory, more pay, but also more stress. Not that it’s not lucrative or sexy to have a long career in a big4 firm (some people really like it), but like OP said it’s a different playing field and different market.

For in-house roles, it really depends. There are in-house roles, and there are in-house roles. If you hop to a large legal team in an established institution (e.g. banks), you can basically coast. Pay is not fantastic, but hours are good and work tends to be repetitive. The legal team is more or less a cost centre, just to tick the boxes. There are other in-house roles in smaller teams where the counsel manages legal affairs and general execution aspects of the business. Almost doubles up as the COO and actually has a say in the overall business. These roles are demanding, but someone who can perform at this role is primed to move onto a C-suite role potentially, as that person would have very good critical thinking skills as well as good working knowledge of the business and sector.