Joining as SS ER Associate - Need Advice transition, relocating, regarding, culture

optiix

Hello:

I will be joining as an SS ER associate soon (relocating to NewYork)- was a buyside associate (3 yrs exp) prior. I am looking for advise regarding differences in culture, dress codes or any pointer to help smooth the transition.

Bg - MBA from non target, CFA lvl 3 pass (this august) and awaiting charter. It took me about 10 years since I graduated Bachelors to break into SS ER.

Thanks

dirk01

You just accomplished the exact opposite of what at least 2/3rds ss associates attempt to accomplish. Very impressive.

_____________________________________________________
-My friend QQQbbe, we will never forget you.

DarienHacker

Qbanky Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hello:
>
> I will be joining as an SS ER associate soon
> (relocating to NewYork)- was a buyside associate
> (3 yrs exp) prior. I am looking for advise
> regarding differences in culture, dress codes or
> any pointer to help smooth the transition.
>
> Bg - MBA from non target, CFA lvl 3 pass (this
> august) and awaiting charter. It took me about 10
> years since I graduated Bachelors to break into SS
> ER.
>
> Thanks

It shouldn't be wildly different in terms of work flow or dress, although you may or may not do more modeling, depending on what type of buyside firm you were at before, and there will probably be a lot more writing. Management might treat you differently and be less open to questioning than you are used to. A lot will depend on which specific industry you cover and the personality of the analyst you work for. Good luck, that sounds like an exciting relocation.

mik82

Yea you went in the opposite direction.

tango_gs

I really disagree with this assumption that everyone on the sell side wants to move the the buy side.

I'm more than happy working on the SS at a BB bank and have no plans to move. They're just different roles with different demands.

Kapie

Jumping to the conclusion that Qbanky went the opposite direction in career transition just shows your ignorance on this industry.

If he is jumping from a small buyside firm to a top-tier sellside firm, that is totally rational decision as his pay will be much higher and future career progression will benefit a lot from having a "brand name" on the resume.

Sellsiders exiting to the buyside are only better-off in terms of compensation and work/life balance if you transit to established AM or hedge fund. Otherwise top-tier sellside total compensation usually are better than small-mid size buyside firms.

I've seen plenty sellsiders transit to hedge funds but moved back to the sellside afterwards

tikfed

^ your conclusion is even more ignorant, because OP didn't say anything about which firms he's going to, and what tier firm he's leaving. You are making some big assumptions that could totally be dead wrong.

What if he was laid off from the buyside and spent months getting something-anything and got the associate research job?

you have no clue what the story is and saying other people are ignorant?

comparing the same level with 3 years of experience , (which means you are still a junior person buy or sell side), most people move Sell -> Buy

busterbluth

Zuran Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If he is jumping from a small buyside firm to a
> top-tier sellside firm, that is totally rational
> decision as his pay will be much higher and future
> career progression will benefit a lot from having
> a "brand name" on the resume.

Just to clarify, most of the best buyside track records are accumulated with small teams, typically <10 investment professionals, and sometimes <5 firm-wide. It's different in PE where you need larger deal teams, but overall it's definitely inaccurate to imply that smaller is worse. Mega funds such as SAC that employ hundreds of people are the exception on the buyside. Generally, unless you are working at a crusty mutual fund or something, going BS to SS is a step down, and that's why it rarely happens.

Your presmise that compensaion is all that matters is flawed. A BB SS may or may not pay more right off the bat, but over the long-term, it will almost certainly have a lower NPV to the candidate than working at even a reasonably good BS shop. You don't learn how to invest on the SS, you learn how to model, write reports, and answer the phone. The BS is a different ball of wax.

The most valuable thing you can learn in this business is how to actually put capital to work in a successful manner. If you were guaranteed to learn that but had to work for FREE for 3 years, it would still be a fantastic investment for you over the course of your career (even though no one would ask you to work for free), though obviously the more you can squeeze out of an opportunity, the better. My general observation is that people are way too short-term focused in this business and miss the big picture, but then again, that's where the opportunities come from, so maybe that is a good thing for the rest of us.

former

Congrats on the move. I like hearing about people who get where they want to go in their careers.

iteracom

In the current job environment, there's no such thing as going the wrong way.