Been thinking about venturing out to the wild wild west for a job. Where I live does not really offer much for CFA candidates. In terms of opportunities, living cost, pay, growth, which would you prefer and why? TIA.
I live in NorCal and moved here since I am also originally from a non-finance city. It’s a decent market for front office finance jobs, although obviously nothing like NYC, and possibly not on par with Chicago. There are definitely some big funds here (as well as lots of small funds) and most of the bulge bracket banks have offices in SF in order to be close to Silicon Valley. If you’re interested in tech finance, this is the best place to be. IMO SF is an okay city. It’s certainly one of the most beautiful cities in the country (when the weather is decent), and there are lots of fun things to do. The positives are offset IMO with an ungodly high cost of living (not that NYC is cheap), and questionable city “character.” The last one may come down to personal preference, so if you like the hippy/granola vibe, hipsters, or the gay / lesbian scene (the three “themes” of SF are “fruits, nuts and granola”), this could be a great place for you. I constantly wish we would move the fund to LA or San Diego – better weather, better women, lower cost of living, equally fun things to do (maybe more if you love the beach as much as I do). That said, those markets are much, much smaller for finance, so your choice might be driven more by where you can land than which part of Cali is better. Pay is probably not substantially different between the two areas from what I have seen over the last couple of years (another plus for SoCal). Both markets seem pretty nichey and hard to crack from what I can tell, unless you speak an Asian language fluently, which would be an enormous plus. That said, it’s doable if you try hard enough and are persistent. One key consideration is that the stock market opens at 6:30 am on the West Coast which isn’t for everyone.
Thanks for your input bromion. South Cal seems to be a better choice due to lower living cost. But it does seem to have fewer opportunities compared to the San Fran area. Any others that work in these areas?
I have a serious question and don’t flame me because I am curious. I live in NY, but have applied to jobs in Washington, DC (which is less than four hours away by car). Employers see that as too far a relocation and don’t consider my applications. So is it the same in California (after all you’re still in the same state)? Let’s say you wanted to move from San Fran to San Diego (much farther than NY to DC) do employers give those candidates chances?
lxwarr30 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have a serious question and don’t flame me > because I am curious. I live in NY, but have > applied to jobs in Washington, DC (which is less > than four hours away by car). Employers see that > as too far a relocation and don’t consider my > applications. So is it the same in California > (after all you’re still in the same state)? Let’s > say you wanted to move from San Fran to San Diego > (much farther than NY to DC) do employers give > those candidates chances? Hmmm this can be tricky. I would say to use a friend’s address if your currently unemployed, but if not, then you can’t obviously do that. Perhaps put on your resume - and I don’t know how to do it right - “willing to relocate, etc…”
lxwarr30 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have a serious question and don’t flame me > because I am curious. I live in NY, but have > applied to jobs in Washington, DC (which is less > than four hours away by car). Employers see that > as too far a relocation and don’t consider my > applications. So is it the same in California > (after all you’re still in the same state)? Let’s > say you wanted to move from San Fran to San Diego > (much farther than NY to DC) do employers give > those candidates chances? San Diego is on the complete other end of the state from SF, so it would definitely be considered a complete relocation. I’m assume DC is considered the same. You can put that you are willing to relocate, however, most small firms won’t pay relocation, and most big firms don’t want to go to the trouble unless it’s for a senior position that is otherwise very hard to fill. I don’t know what your situation is. If you are young and aggressive, you may consider specifically saying that you will pay relocation costs, and then floating the few thousand dollars it will take to make the move. Over the course of your career, the cost will be insignificant compared to the value of getting your foot in the door. BTW, DC is lame IMO, I think you should stay in NY.
I’m in LA and got relocation from Miami. I know long term I need/want to be in Boston/NYC.
I can’t comment on the financial/investment job market but I moved from the East Coast to the Silicon Valley area to consult with these large tech firms this year. Nor Cal blows Boston out of the water. It would be like comparing CFA2Grunt to a supermodel. It just isn’t fair.