Two offers. I got laid off at my last job after I finished the 79 but before I could take the 63. Shit happens.
The offer I'm taking is a market risk associate-level position; interestingly enough, the offer letter states that "Based on your expected job functions, the Firm has determined that you must transfer the Series 79 registration as appropriate for your role...Furthermore, we have agreed that this offer is predicated on your ability to be properly licensed for the offered position".
Why would they use this kind of language? I am skeptical as to how the license could or would be relevant. I will be working mainly with the repo desk and other, longer-term financing businesses. Common sense tells me that the firm would not be trying to incentivize movement to FO after spending some time in risk; the only way I would move bank into i-Banking would be via an MBA. Furthermore, if the move was made to FO, S&T would be much more logical. I was under the impression (I barely passed the exam, so I'm probably wrong) that 2 years sans member firm association (i.e. at biz school) would render me CE inactive. Thus, if I ever decided I wanted to move into a role requiring the license, enough time would have elapsed getting that MBA that I would have to re-qualify by examination anyways...
(Please don't reply with mythical stories of the market risk guy who moved to M&A without getting his MBA first, it doesn't happen)
The second offer is a corporate banking analyst-level role, and to my understanding is closer to capital markets than the risk offer I'm taking. However, their offer letter states, after listing my reps/warranties that I am in fact licensed, "...as the Series 79 is not required for this position, the firm will not be transferring your Series 79 designation". Unless I'm mistaken, it would make more sense for the S79 to be carried over in this case, as many of the RM's sit with DCM for part of the week (it's a funky group) and the broker-dealer and corporate banking businesses are all held in one US LLC (it's a foreign bank).
Let me preface everything by saying that my interview process with this second shop has been disconcerting. My primary point of contact during the interview process has been the MD I would be working under, and it seems like she and HR commiserate and then HR gets back to me. Very strange.
They have generally been a bit dilatory, so I made a point of letting them know I had a competing offer shortly after it came in. HR quickly made me a verbal offer and said the official letter would be over the next day. They have been backpedaling and saying the letter will be over "tomorrow" for six days now; HR called today to let me know that the hold-up was due to compliance trying to figure out if the S79 could be transferred.
Is there some piece of the puzzle I'm missing here? Is the first firm transferring the S79 to make it seem like it matters? Why is the second firm, offering me a position arguably closer to i-Banking, not transferring the license? Am I burnt out and paranoid from the interview process? I don't even have my 63 yet...but I'm not going to be talking to clients anyway...
