I have an offer for an investment bank with a small office in San Francisco and the main office in a smaller city on the east coast. The pay is the same for both offices but the analyst class in SF will be only 2-3 while the class in the main office will be 12-15, many of whom I know. I love SF but I'm worried that I'll miss out on having a solid analyst class. Thoughts?
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If you like the people you are working with in SF, and want to continue working on the west coast, I see no reason for you to go back east. A "smaller city on the east coast" doesn't confer the networking/branding advantages of NYC, so no loss there.
Think about where you would fit. And, if your bank's hours are reasonable, you might actually be able to have relationships outside of your office.
If you are worried about analyst class size impacting recruiting, don't be. PE firms will recruit first by the name of your bank, then by your deal experience. If they went by class size, UBS would place better than Blackstone. You might see a slight decrease in networking opportunities by virtue of being in a smaller office, but, if you like SF, I say go for it.
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