Is it reasonable to be concerned about instability in HF space?

MacroJunkie

Most everyone has to deal with this at some point and, it is IMO one of the things that will make or break your long-term career in the HF industry (whether or not you are okay with that instability). It's natural to be feeling anxious at this stage you're leaving the devil you know for the devil you don't. However, to be truly successful, you must eventually come to terms with that instability.

There are a few important considerations to think about here:

1. How senior are you in your career? Getting fired at 23 with less than a year of pre-buyside work experience may make it difficult to get back on your feeet. Getting fired at 27 with several years of pre-buyside experience may make it easier to move around afterwards.

2. What's the culture like at the pod you're joining? How is the PM's reputation for training analysts? What about the senior analysts on your team? No pod is going to be truly "comfortable" in the way your ER job is, but some are much better with mentoring/compensation/career development than others. I'd suggest speaking with the current analysts working under your PM or any former analysts to get a better picture of what this is like (if you don't already know).

If you know deep down this is what you actually want, then go for it and don't let some pre-job jitters talk you out of it. If you're uncertain about any of the things I mentioned, find more information because you don't want to be going into this half-blind. If you don't think you'll ever be able to fully accept the risk-taking nature of a buyside career, then perhaps better to stay at your current seat (or move to a LO).

I actually disagree with the first point. If you end up being 24-25 with 1-2 years of sellside and 1-2 years of buyside, I think it’s easier to transition back because you’re still cheap and malleable. It becomes harder as you get more experience because there are fewer seats (because of cost).