Will I screw up my career by going to the UK?

I've made several posts in the past about this question b/c it has been consuming me the whole summer but I promise this is the last one. I have to decide what I will do with the next 5-8 years of my life.

I'm a US citizen and I was admitted into a target in the UK. I really want to go, but I'm worried that I'll miss out on so many career opportunities that I would have if I stayed in the US and did ibanking here.

I really want to go to the UK. I think I'd like the lifestyle, experience, and travel. I already speak Spanish pretty well (I heard that a second language is a must over there). It fits the kind of person I am.

At the same time though, I want money, and long term I want to be here in the US. IB is my goal right now and I heard that it's harder to get into in the UK and pays less. I think I would be fine missing out on a couple thousand by going to the UK and working there for a couple years, but if it completely screws up my career opportunities that I would have here in the US five to eight years from now, then I don't know if I want to take the risk. I heard that lateraling from the UK to the US is not common in banking, so I might have to come back through an MBA program and make my banking opportunities there.

If I can come back to the US with OK opportunities after working in banking (or whatever I get into) in the UK 2-5 years then I will do it.

If anyone has any guidance on UK banking or coming back to the US or something please help me.

7 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Right, I’m aware, thank you. He will obviously not make it to MF PE in NYC coming straight out of London IB, this has been covered ad nauseam here. But it should be very easy to ask for an internal transfer to NYC after a year or two, and then once he’s in NYC he can look for a permanent move elsewhere.

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