When you start your first job, chances are you aren’t the only one starting with the firm that day. You are one of many that make up the analyst class for that particular year. However, this is not the case for all jobs. While you may be one of the many new hires at a MM/BB/EB, others are the sole hire for a firm.
Suppose you’re beginning at a BB IBD in NYC; your analyst class has ~80 people (I’m guessing). What about at a regional office? I met someone who was the sole summer analyst a BB desk in Boston. Naturally, the number of analysts per office is dependent upon the needs/vacancies.
A part of my internship program was a day planned for where the interns on my desk swapped places with the other firm’s interns for that day. I was at a buy-side shop, so it was ultimately the sell-side interns got to see life on the buy-side for a day and vice-versa. When the day was over, everyone from each firm met at a bar for drinks and had a good time. I had the opportunity to speak with the person who spent the day at my firm. I quickly learned she was the only intern at that office, and if she had started FT (which was her goal, and it had been expressed to her that she would start there given she didn’t screw up) she would be the only analyst. Our conversation went like this:
Wait, so you’re the only intern?
Yeah, I love it.
Don’t you get kind of lonely or bored since there isn't anyone your age?
Not at all. I have friends in the area so I don’t mind.
This triggered the question in my mind: Is having an analyst class really that important?
Pros of a class:
- The ‘camaraderie’ you build amongst your analyst/associate class
- A group of friends (particularly if you are moving to a new city)
- A wider network of contacts (some of you will leave the firm for other opportunities, others will stay and potentially move up internally, etc.)
Cons of a class:
- You don’t have to deal with potentially annoying people
But isn't that really just a part of life, and not necessarily a con?
So the question stands, how important is having a start class? Am I missing any of the positives and negatives?
x
This isn't really a debate, it depends on personal preference and I'm sure the majority of normally social people would prefer being part of a larger class. I "upgraded" my class size from sa to td and it's much better
My first job out of undergrad I was the only new Analyst in a small office of ~15 total people on the team with if I remember 4 analysts. I was the most junior by about 2 years. The class size from a social dynamic is whatever as you only get in more trouble when you go out with and socialize with your coworkers. The part that burns you is the benchmarking in work product. It may have been because I was in a smaller group at a smaller company, but I was often benchmarked against and colpared to people that had been there for 2-3 years.
Ive also been part of an OCR class and had that environment. I think there are pros and cons. from a professional standpoint I enjoy a large formal class as it enables benchmarking and provides comps when doing bonuses/bucketing. But anymore it seems like kids take a lot of the professionalism out of their classes.
A "pro" of being standalone in a class is that there aren't any politics or "this is how it's done" type vibes to prevent you from stepping up. If you're a star you can get invited to a bunch of client meetings, start owning calls, etc because there's nobody to compare you to and say that's not the "traditional" role an analyst should be playing.
A "con" of being standalone in a class is not having others to bounce ideas and stupid questions off of - I was shouting questions and answers back and forth multiple times per hour across the bullpen throughout my first year; you learn a ton through osmosis.
Sole analyst here. It doesn't bother me at all. As long as you are social, the older ones (2-3 years isn't really that much older anyway) will hang out with you/get drinks/shoot the shit. One thing is certain, they will know who you are! I've interned at a larger bank with a huge class size and it's much harder to get noticed and become "friends" with the older colleagues. All MDs, VPs and associates know me very well simply because I'm the only one. Honestly, whether I'm alone or not, I'm just happy I made it.
I'm part of a very small analyst class (with respect to our office). I'd prefer to be in a large one in order to have a broader network, and to learn from the other guys. Bouncing ideas off of analyst becomes bouncing ideas off of associates, fine because we have a couple of rock solid associates, but I'd prefer to have a full bullpen.
Being in the strange position of having done both, it's a tough call. In my first career I started alone, then in my second position (career change) I started with a class. There are pros and cons to both but it's really going to come down to each situation.
Consider:
Generally, starting in a class gives people a shared sense of identity and you will have a networking advantage right from the get go.
But again.
It depends.....
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