Wall Street vs SF: Where would you rather start?
Title says it all. Where would you guys rather start your career in Investment Banking (or looking back, where would you have wished to start)? The historic Wall Street, or the booming SF tech space?
Wall Street 100 times out of 100.
I think it's easier to make the transition from high tech to high finance than the other way around. Many (most?) VC investment and operating partners started their careers in tech.
Investment Banking in SF. Chess not checkers fellas
This is the most logical answer
My man
why? just curious
r/woooosh
SF for tech, WS for about anything else.
Deleted
SF
Depends on what you want to do later down the road. If you want to do anything related to tech (tech PE, corp dev for FAANG, VC), SF is the move. Otherwise, NYC probably.
Bunch of prospects commenting. If u want to be in and stay in tech, SF is the way to go. If u want the old cookie cutter IB —> PE/HF route, NYC simply provides more opps.
Buyside in the Bay is a pretty dang good life...I started in NYC and am out in SF now. I think my experience in NYC shaped me to who I am and all that BS, so I am glad I started there. That being said I much prefer the Bay now.
I agree with the Associate. I think NYC is a better place to start, and SF is a better place to finish. NYC just builds you for success anywhere.
Being a young single guy in NYC shits on SF
From my experience of interviewing at FANG companies and friends who've made the switch, it seems way easier to transition into tech than the other way around. Some of my friends at BBS&T /proptrading found their way back into tech by simply applying. Of course, if don't know how to code, things might be a little tough.
Not really following what this is saying. I'm assuming you're saying it's easier to go from SF IB to SF tech? Or are you saying your Wall Street friends found their way into tech by simply applying?
Yes, there are a lot of nontraditional applicants in tech who get the job.
As someone who lives in SF, it fucking sucks.
yeah this is the right answer wtf? sf is a shithole whether you want to work in tech or not
upwards of 2k a month to have homeless people living outside my building and taking shits on the street. I really hate what this city has done for my empathy but after you see nasty shit every day eventually you get used to it.
yeah I’m really surprised to see a bunch of people be about sf..must have never been
yeah I’m really surprised to see a bunch of people be about sf..must have never been
how's the nightlife/outdoor activity scene in SF?
Nightlife sucks compared to NYC. Everything closes at 1-2am.
Outdoor activity though is great - lots to do in the area, weather is great in East Bay / South Bay
2nd that. Outdoor activites are fantastic, tons of trails nearby and awesome weather. Nightlife is fucking terrible. Unless you enjoy going out in the marina every weekend and talking to a bunch of biz dev tech bros blabbering about how sick their startup is. Its also probably 70-75% men.
Do you try to get girls and are unsuccessful b/c most of them are guys?
Agreed. Not a big fan of SF and besides having tech companies close by don’t see the appeal. The city itself is very small and not as fun as NY. I’ve never lived in nyc, but spent a summer there, and so much more to do in NY. If I had to take a pick, I like LA the most but fewer finance opps there.
Word. LA gets a lot of hate, but it is a good place to live for being such a big city.
I would 100% say NYC is a better place to start. You're young, NYC is a fucking blast when you're young. And IMO, it's easier to go from NYC to SF, or literally anywhere, than the other way around. If you have an offer from NY, take it. You might never have that chance again. SF isn't going anywhere.
SF is going to burn down rapidly. Tech is moving out of SF and with rent/COVID happening, SF will be a thing of the past eventually. Tech moving to Chi/Austin/Denver at a very quick pace.
NYC is where anyone chasing money/finance is going to go.
Regardless of where you want to go in your career, IB provides a HUGE leg-up on the competition for any job you want going forward. You will form a highly transferrable skillset that not many people will own and understand.
I'm not in banking anymore but the way that I provide value in my corp finance job is way above those that did not have an IB background (they did consulting/other corp dev)
Based in SF and can tell you first hand SF is absolutely garbage
Got to be British?
New analysts in SF will have a much higher chance of finding a high quality exit opportunity. There are far fewer analysts in SF than in NY, by a factor of 10 at least, but the number of high quality PE / VC / HF seats is not close to 10x lower as there are so many PE, growth, VC and hedge funds (which are becoming growth funds) in the Bay Area. People aren't aware that new offices are being built out and staffed by dozens of top firms hiring associates for the first time, largely from the area given the tech coverage focus. Advent's new office, CVC growth's expansion, Blackstone's new office, Bridgepoint's new office, Permira's rapid expansion to its #3 office and soon to be #2 office globally. Not to mention the dozens of $100-300MM funds hiring their first or second associate.
Analysts at mediocre groups such as HL TMT, WF SF and so on have much better exits than you'd expect simply because there are so many more spots available, despite having terrible deal experience.
Underrated point ^
With this, I would argue the same opportunities become available to NY analysts, if they wish to move out West. West Coast firms are more than willing to take in their NY counterparts. I've seen many move from NYC to SF, LA, London, Hong Kong. Haven't seen it the other way around. There is no denying that NY breeds you into an absolute workhorse that would thrive in any environment, with any task given to you.
Lol who hit me w MS. What did I say that isn’t true?
Would these funds in SF hire IB analysts from other cities who aren't in tech groups?
Lower chance no doubt, but far from impossible.
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