US vs UK early in career

Hello all, I am a dual citizen so immediately cross visa concerns off the table. I grew up in London and went to secondary school there, came over to the US for Uni and am have been working in IB at a big European bank (DB, Barc, UBS) for about 8 months now. Family is still in London and i keep thinking more and more about moving back as I am relatively sure I want to move back at some point in the next few years and raise a family in Europe. Would it be a bad idea to move back after a year or two of IB here in the US to some kind of family office role. I feel like things are in rough shape in the UK atm and it might be a step back to move there careerwise.

Thanks in advance for the insights

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful

So, I'm going to be fairly low value-add here, as you know a lot of this already, but I'll try. I also don't know much about family offices, so I'll let someone else opine on that.

1) It's probably a bad idea financially. That said, it's not that bad financially and won't change your life. It's not as if by working in the US in IB you would've been en route to owning a private jet. It isn't life-changing financially. Life-changing would be starting your own company or winning a lottery.

2) There aren't many things more important than money / career. It's juvenile to pretend that money isn't important. But I'd put family into the category of "more imortant". You will miss the years you aren't spending with your family when they are no longer around (believe me).

3) Minor point. You're a smart guy / girl by being in this industry so you'll figure it out regardless, but generally if you want to raise a family in Europe, it's better to be based there now (meeting your other half, figuring out places to live, etc.)

4) Being a tin foil hat pschologist you clearly want to do this. Username aside, you even positioned this as "is it a bad idea to do XYZ" which is sort of inviting a REALLY negative reaction from (literally) strangers on an internet forum to dissuade you.

5) Is the UK that rough? The job market isn't great from a time series point of view, but I feel like everywhere is sort of crap right now. I had a tremendous steak dinner in London last weekend, and cocktails. And my IB salary can more than afford it - life is (selfishly) good. Is it better than NYC? That depends on you and what you value. I'd probably be financially better off in NYC, but last I heard rents are horrific there, and crime, schools, healthcare, all play into your likes and dislikes.

 

Qui fuga inventore sit quia. Consequatur ea corporis quis sit. Necessitatibus voluptatem reiciendis velit veniam. Est quasi cupiditate voluptas magnam nam ullam vero. Et rem nobis quibusdam et in vitae.

Et facilis impedit aliquid nihil et. Vero laborum expedita nisi quidem suscipit eos. Est quo et dignissimos voluptatibus.

Veniam id recusandae id sunt autem. Omnis sint temporibus reiciendis omnis fuga praesentium.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”