Leaving London to Zurich
All,
Currently an Analyst at MS/GS/JPM within a relatively niche team (not M&A) that only sits in London.
For various personal reasons (Lifestyle, proximity to family, quality of life) I am heavily considering to relocate to Zurich. For this, I would need to either switch teams within the bank or leave the bank entirely.
Am I killing my career by leaving London? I don’t see the point in building a career in a city I cannot see myself long term in.
Happy Easter
Based on the most helpful WSO content, relocating from London to Zurich can have both advantages and challenges, depending on your career goals and priorities:
Career Impact:
Lifestyle and Quality of Life:
Switching Teams or Banks:
Language and Networking:
Long-Term Vision:
Ultimately, the decision depends on your priorities. If lifestyle and proximity to family outweigh the career benefits of staying in London, Zurich could be a great fit. However, carefully evaluate the opportunities available in Zurich to ensure they align with your career aspirations.
Sources: Recruiting in Zürich/ Geneva vs London, Goldman Sachs SLC IBD Overview, Zurich is Paradise, Q&A: Non-Target -> 3rd Year Analyst MM IB, The best of the back (or middle) office?
Good luck trying to move to Switzerland mate, some of the toughest immigration policies out there.
Otherwise yes Switzerland isn’t nowhere near as good in terms of career opps as London (no place in Europe is or will ever get close), but why do you care when the average cashier has a better lifestyle and comp than the average banker in London? I am very much exaggerating but random corporate roles will very easily clear 200-300k comp, let alone ones requiring IB experience. That combined with low taxation and quality of life means you get a great life despite doing objectively lower profile work.
With EU passport (not sure if OP has one) you can freely migrate to and work in Switzerland I believe. The main barrier in that case is being fluent in German or, better, Swiss German. Swiss culture is also pretty hard to migrate into so there needs to be some culture resemblance between yourself and them to truly enjoy yourself there
Not really you need a company to sponsor you and prove to the authorities they haven’t found a suitable Swiss candidate for the role, but indeed it is significantly easier than for a non-EU national. Also if you lose your job you have 6 months to get another one or you get the boot, you also can’t take on welfare (e.g. you lost your job) if you ever want to get Swiss citizenship down the line (they look at this stuff), you need to stay in the same canton 10-15 years to get proper citizenship (if you move it resets the clock), you can get kicked out of the country if you commit crimes (even “light” stuff like DUI) etc etc. VS most other EU countries it is a though place to move to, and even tougher to integrate into
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