NYSE hours from the west coast?
I might have an in for a fund in San Fran, but the prospect of getting up at 4am every day sounds pretty awful. Is it as shitty as it sounds?
I might have an in for a fund in San Fran, but the prospect of getting up at 4am every day sounds pretty awful. Is it as shitty as it sounds?
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I know a couple guys at a prop shop office in SF.... from what I've heard, it is absolutely horrific if you are not a morning person. On the flip side, you do get a sizeable portion of the daytime left if you have any hobbies/activities that would otherwise fill that up. I imagine you adjust to it (working Eurodollar hours in Chicago isn't exactly great either), but it still won't be pleasant if you are a night person.
You'd better believe it. Remember, it's not just getting up at 4AM, it's also being completely zonked by 9PM.
I've worked on the West Coast for my entire career. For the first two years I had to be at work by 5am. It was horrible. Whatever you can imagine, it's worse than that. That said, most funds don't ask their people to get up that early. I'm usually in the office by 6:30 - 7, which is not that bad on a 5 minute commute, and out by 6ish.
Read: 6:30 - 7 after two years.
Anyways, Ravenous is very, very right on the terrible part.
Also, 6:30 - 7 if you are not working directly with the markets i.e. need to push through trades on a premarket release (5-7 am ET, 3-5 am MT). It is the worst when you check your email at 3am just to get in at 3:15 and see your boss is already there. Then he leaves at 4pm and makes you wait until the 9pm post-market release.
My coworker in ER showed up at 5:15 on a normal day and got it pretty bad. Fun stuff.
6:30 - 6pm is very similar to my hours on the East Coast. I'm a morning person anyway, that's easy for me to swing.
Anyone have opinions on San Fran? Looks like I have TWO ins suddenly.
SF is terrible. I think it is easily the worst city on the West or East Coasts besides maybe Philly (although I only don't like Philly because people are so angry -- the city itself is not bad from what I have seen).
Damn it. I was in San Fran for one day last year and didn't care for it, but I was hoping I was wrong. My boss said he loves the place, but he's a weirdo. What's your take?
I'm from the Philly burbs. I love Philly, but I can't even defend it besides to say "try Baltimore"
SF was covered in another thread called "Best places to live in the US." The tentative consensus was that it was among the worst of the major cities. I like the idea of SF, but the high cost of living, horrible traffic, sketchy weather, and generally "weird vibe" of the people doesn't really suit me. I would love to move to LA but haven't been able to find a good job yet.
Philly is an experience. It's the only place in the world I have been where people will do rude things (like cut you off in traffic) where they are CLEARLY at fault, and then flip YOU off. I got flipped off so many times in three days in Philly that I started to think it was some kind of greeting.
To be honest, I want out of NYC because of the high cost of living and the fact everyone is a jerk when you have to be near them (subways/sidewalks). San Fran doesn't at all seem to be the answer, but I haven't heard of any openings in Chicago (my top choice).
I've been to LA twice and hated it each time. Maybe I never gave it a chance, but it didn't seem my style at all.
Honestly, I'v never had an experience like that in Philly. I've nearly died every time I've driven in Jersey, though.
I work on the west coast and yes, it's fucking awful especially when a company is reporting before market open. Days like that make me want to smash my monitor with my keyboard.
I've come into work 3 days straight at 6am for AM earnings and thought THAT sucked. How do you do it? Why do you do it?
I'm afraid now, because my SF prospects look really promising, and I can't imagine turning down an offer at this point.
Do it because you have to and that's part of the job. Some of the analysts here have been 5+ years and they all say that you never really get use to the 4am starts - they suck no matter what.
The worst is when you have a computer report before market open and a company reporting after market with a conference call. Since some of the companies we cover are small-cap west coast companies with no sense of time, they'll release earnings at 4:30 PST then have a conference call at 5:00 PST. I hate those days because they just don't end.
what about non-nyse groups?i know a guy in commodities who insists his group starts work AFTER 6, should be in BEFORE 6.
What are West Coast Asset Management work hours? (Originally Posted: 03/14/2013)
Does anyone have any experience with or know what kind of hours one can expect to work in buy side asset management (think mutual funds) in LA or San Fran?
Are you supposed to be at your desk at 4:30am or something before the NYC market opens??
Some guys at the IM firm I intern at have West Coast experience. The market opens at 6:30AM so they would usually get into the office at around 5/5:30 - maybe 6 if it was expected to be a slow day. Really the only comments they had about it were that the morning hours sucked especially if you had a long commute which would mean waking up at 4 or even earlier. The bright side was that the work day ended at 1PM and they were usually free to go, though most would schedule client meetings after 1 or just use that time to catch up on anything that needed to be done.
They did say that the best parts were never ever ever having to deal with traffic.
The hours seem fantastic if you're a morning person...wow, getting out of work at 1PM? Nice. Leaves you with a ton of time for other shit.
When I intern'd t a MM firm in LA, we were required to be there at pre-market and the interns/operations had to be around until 2-3pm, generally on fridays 1pm was a time for everyone to leave but during the week there was tons of due diligence that needed to be completed
I'm an analyst at a long only shop in SF. In around 530-6 (earlier if its earnings season thx to fucking 8am EST earnings calls) and out around 4 or 5 (later during earnings season).
Our traders are in at 4am out by 1/130pm.
You will not die. That is how its done. And you do get somewhat used to it after about 6 months. You just come in and do your work. Sometimes by Friday you are ready to go a little insane, but you make it work.
Why do people do it?
For my mid-western state, non-target statistics, lack of a resume, and a shot at MM ER, it was the same story as always (in this order) -
Money, career prospects, what usually ended up being better hours, and the work was not half bad.
What is going to get you to wake up every day earlier than anyone else, go to sleep earlier, and always be tired?
That said, I leveraged it for a 8-6 (avg) buyside, non-NY market related job asap.
Also note that my boss who had done it for 8 years was waking up at 3-4 am to get hit the gym, so take that as you will.
West Coast Sales & Trading (Originally Posted: 02/18/2010)
Can anyone shed light on sales and trading opportunities on the West Coast? Also, is it a huge disadvantage to work in California rather than NYC? I know the hours are a little rough because of the west coast time difference, but is it manageable? Thanks!
Know a guy who's in Credit Sales in SF. He's in at 4AM and out at 2PM, which isn't that horrible. I would say a majority of the offices in LA/SF are sales coverage offices (Someone correct me if I'm wrong).
Thanks for the quick response! Do you know what type of internship opportunities there are out there? Do you think it is a smarter idea to begin your career in NYC rather than begin In California? Also, what exacly do you mean by sales coveage, do they not have a trading floor?
Thanks again!
I think this is pretty true, for example I know there are Mortgage Sales coverage guys out there but I don't think any traders.
Wells has an S&T desk in SF, for what it's worth. Don't think there's much trading out there in general though, and certainly no trading floors.
Can you please elaborate on the lifestyle of working in S&T on the West Coast. Has anyone found it rough getting in at 4am and being done with work at 3pm? Did you feel like you were on a different schedule than all of your friends/family/the rest of the world?
Thanks again for the help
I know many people currently in finance that live in SD and LA who love the lifestyle, as far as hours syncing with the east coast.
Opportunities in CA compared to NYC is not even comparable. To really do well in finance in LA, SD, I cant speak of SF, you really have to know people that work in finance in CA to have anything close to the opportunities of NYC. Unless you are looking for PWM, AM, or INS.
There is definitely legitimate financial opportunities, but they aren't easy to get.
Bump.
This is an excellent post, I was wondering the same thing. It seems like my best options are to move to NYC, which isn't really a bad thing.
West Coast Buy-Side Hours (Originally Posted: 06/25/2013)
Hey all,
Just wondering what the hours are like for an equity analyst at a mutual fund or hedge fund on the West Coast. I hear traders have to wake up super early and be at their desks long before 6am but is it the same for analysts? Assume a fundamental/value-oriented shop a la Capital Group, FPA, Tradewinds etc. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
I don't work on the west coast but from what I understand a lot of places do something like 5 - 3 or some shiz along those lines.
That actually sounds really awesome
If you like waking up at 4am everyday then be my guest lol.
Hours are going to be what you want them to be generally speaking. I would say a typical value place will be like 7/8-5/6. It will depend a lot on when you have meetings and whatnot. No way an Analyst at a value place is coming in at 5am.
I mean yeah, but the getting out at 3 sounds awesome. You can play a round of golf every day or just hang out in the sun longer than if you were getting out at 7!
My buddy works 5-3 in LA and he loves it. He completely avoids the major traffic hours.
Do you know what firms do 5-3? No need to name your buddy's specific firm only, but I'd be curious to see a few others, if you know of any, to get a good idea. Thanks if possible.
As an intern I work 8-4. Traffic kills in LA though
I'm an analyst in SF. Usually 530/600am til 400/430pm. Wake up 445am because I'm 15 door to door from work.
Hours are ~2-3 hours longer during earnings season on days one of my companies reports.
I would deffinitely learn how to surf if I lived in CA and those were my hours.
That is EXACTLY why I created the thread. Trying to mix my personal and professional passions ....
I work at a long only fund and generally do 9-7. It's not uncommon for people to cut out at 3 on Friday though. Haven't worked a weekend in over two years.
Kite Surf bro, never fall down
for same job: does the west coast require more hours because of the time difference? (Originally Posted: 07/27/2007)
for associates..do u have to work longer hours on the west due to time diff?
wow.
-confused-
for market roles, yes.
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