Consulting at Factset
Anyone care to throw in their 2 cents on an entry level consulting job at FactSet? Any experience here?
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Consulting for FactSet isn't management consulting. FactSet is competitor software to platforms like Bloomberg, and the consultants are just like the relationship managers between FactSet and the clients who have a subscription to their software.
We had Factset at an old job - they would come around to visit about once a month or so, take some people out to lunch, and were the people who would answer questions.
You are supposed to be an expert on the Factset system. Consultant is a pretty heady job title for that role. Still, they probably pay well – our Factset reps went to good schools.
Thanks for the responses, seems like a pretty interesting job. I wonder though, could this possibly lead to actually working in the investment banking industry? A bank picking off factset consultants?
Thanks for the help
I had an interview with them on Campus (decent state school), wasn't all impressed with them, to be honest I was a little confused and what 'consulting' they did
I had an interview with them on Campus (decent state school), wasn't all impressed with them, to be honest I was a little confused and what 'consulting' they did
Dude, you are basically customer service. You get abused over the phone by bankers who cant figure out Facset codes or are pissed off that your program crashed their computer again. Even as an intern I was calling these guys and SNL up like it was my job. Sometimes, it was just because I was too lazy to figure it out on my own.
wow deal toy seems like an asset to his firm, relying on people he belittles to do his own work for him. One thing I know about FactSet Consultants, they can do most analysts' jobs in half the time the analyst can.
I know a bit about FactSet's business model and who their clients are, sell side makes up a very small minority of the company's revenues, it just seems like a lot more because the interns and analysts are the ones calling the support line 80% of the time since all they do is stay in the office 20 hours a day living in Excel. FactSet workstation seats at investment banks aren't worth shit, just like deal toy.
FactSet Consultant --> (Originally Posted: 02/07/2011)
Hi first time posting,
I'm graduating from a mid-tier university with accounting and finance degrees (~3.5 GPA) looking to get into finance. I was wondering - will working as a FactSet consultant set one up for good exit opps later, perhaps AM, HF, or something else market driven? Then what about for IBD or PE?
Short-term, I'm looking to get my CFA in the next 5 years and open to MBA stuff later on but that's beside the point.
Thank you for your feedback
Factset is a lot like working at Bloomberg or CapIQ-you learn some relevant finance skills but you're not really targeted for those jobs and are viewed as more of a tech consultant.
Linkedin is a good tool for this sort of thing: Do an advanced search for "People," filtering for Company>Factset, former not current. Looking over the first few pages there are a few people who are potentially front-office investment professionals, but mostly software developers and account executives.
Ok thanks, that's a great idea
FactSet and Bloomberg Careers (Originally Posted: 01/22/2013)
Hey everyone,
Just curious about these companies. What are the opportunities for people that used to work for these firms? I know that FactSet has you take the Series 7 for their Research/Prod. Dev. positions. I'm waiting to hear back for an interview and don't hear much about them on this website.
Thought I'd add Bloomberg too, since it is a comparable company for entry level positions (I presume).
Thanks for any insight!
I had some classmates go to work at Factset. The pay isn't great (50-60k starting) and basically you're just a salesperson for Factset, but you get a lot of interaction with bankers, I've heard that there are opportunities to move into finance, especially if you network well, and most importantly the lifestyle is fantastic. They have a semi silicon valley model so lunch is paid for everyday, a lot of young people get hired right our of college, they support further education, and the hours aren't bad at all. People looking to go into IB scoff at it, but personally I think that for a first or second job, its pretty good.
Yeah, it seems like a really cool place to work. Maybe not extremely steep learning curve but it seems like a good entry level program. That is the only thing that I'm really worried about. I feel like it'd be a good stepping stone into IB or AM, however feel that they'd dismiss candidates from such a place as "inferior" due to the nature of the work they do.
Having worked with the people from FactSet and Bloomberg, I can report that everyone I have met seems extremely happy with their job.
Echo everything that was said about hours / lifestyle / free lunches / start-up culture / etc. Plenty of people on this website don't put much thought into lifestyle, but I don't think you should underestimate what fewer hours in the office can translate into. I know someone who worked at FactSet for a year or so out of undergrad. He spent his ample hours outside the office working on developing a start-up idea that he had been building since college. Because he had so much time on his hands and plenty of money, he built a successful platform and left FactSet to pursue his own venture. Last I checked, his company had angel funding and can now be searched on FactSet (surely a symbol of at least some success!). Don't let me steer you the wrong way: this is a much different job than IB or AM, and though I'm sure you could network your way into getting a job in either of these fields eventually, I don't think that should be your motivation for going in.
There's a reason why FactSet is consistently ranked in the top 10 best places to work for. That should be good enough reason by itself.
Yeah, I'd really enjoy that. I really wanted to get a BA in mathematics sometime so that I could do quant finance or financial engineering. That would be a decent set-up where I could work and finish my BA at night. Eventually maybe after doing grad program get into HF or something.
Extra time to live is always nice, even if you're not paid quite as much.
If you have any q's shoot me a pm. I'm at one of the big data providers/application software/terminals providers/whatever you want to call it
Bloomberg is similar. People that work there tend to really enjoy it.
However, as Northsider actually alluded to, most don't stay long-term b/c the opportunities to move up are more limited. I know the starting pay at Bloomberg is probably around what Factset pays, but unless you are in a sales role, the incremental increases are not great.
But, you get plenty of perks working at Bloomberg (NYC, I wouldn't work in the NJ office). There is an area stocked w/free food, the ability to view the Live TV programs, hands-on approach with clients that allows you to learn a significant amount about what you are interested in (i.e. swaps, commodities), and a communal culture.
Factset Consultant (Originally Posted: 09/21/2013)
I have an interview with Factset as an entry level consultant. Based off some prior threads it does not doesn't sound like the most interesting job, but I wanted to get some more insights.
Does anyone know what the interview process is like? What the normal progression is for a Factset consultant is?
can't offer anything aobut the interview process, but i met a couple factset consultants this summer becuse we use factset. does not seem like a fun job... they have great hours supposedly, but they're basically just sales guys hawking factset and customer service for when we call the helpline at 3 am because we don't know how to use factset.
Hey. I am very interestedt in this opportunity. Did you just apply online or was it like an on-campus recruiting or through alum? I just do not know how selective they are since my school is a liberal arts college and non-target.
PM me and I will share
At 3AM, the call goes to Japan.
It's not really a "consulting" gig from what I understood when I was going through recruiting. You're more like a customer service agent for a client that is having trouble navigating the FactSet software.
FactSet (Originally Posted: 11/24/2008)
Hey guys,
Buddy of mine just got an offer from FactSet, but he's waiting on other consulting firms (mainly economic and litigation consulting) for their decisions. How much is the pay for FactSet? Do you think he should just go with that offer? Hours are just from 8:30 - 5:30 and he says it seems like a chill place. Any thoughts?
I think you should stop living your life through your friend.
? I work in IBD already you tool and I have no idea what it's like to work at FactSet so I was wondering what sort of advice to give him. Thanks.
You must definetely not be a fan of Proposal 8. Hope you can give him good "advice"
I once met someone working for them and he was pretty happy with his job there. We didn't discuss any financial considerations though. Did you try glassdoor.com?
Just tried glassdoor; I never knew about that site. Seems like FactSet pays around $60K, I think that seems pretty good for the hours he would work. Thanks a lot for the help youngmoney, I'll pass the info along to him.
I have a friend who signed with them last year as a Factset consultant. He likes the job and makes about 60-65k. Which is pretty good for someone fresh out of undergrad. They have offices all over the place. If it is for HQ, Norwalk is not bad. SoNo is alright for nightlife and NYC is only 30 minutes away. It's great for me as every time I have a problem with my Factset I just give him a call.
I think the FactSet people are really happy - everytime I called them this summer, they were really happy sounding (at least relative to the analysts...)
One of the Directors in another group was actually dating a FactSet chick hahahha - she was supervising our SA training sesh
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