Chicago Job market ( Advice on breaking in)
Hello,
To anyone who lives or is familiar with the Chicago market - your input will be much appreciated. I am looking for the best way to get a finance job in Chicago.
Quick background about me:
I am currently In a Corporate Development Finance rotation program for one of the big three in Detroit. I have a little bit over a year of work experience (not including my banking internship in college). I graduated with a BBA in Finance/Economics (Dec 2016) from a good business school (but not a top 25). I started working full time after.
I frequently travel to Chicago a lot and I feel like it has way more potential than Detroit pertaining to career growth (in finance). Detroit is only really automotive centric. Ideally, I would want to look for something in IB, banking, or real estate. I would be very open to other industries. Does anyone have good advice on how I should approach this??
Some things to consider:
Salary: currently I make a little bit more than 70K. I would probably ask for a 15% increase to accommodate the cost of living in Chicago.
MBA: My current job is willing to pay the full tab for me to get my MBA. Getting my MBA from Ross (U of M) would give me better leverage for a move into Chicago. The downside is I would have to stay with the company for two more years after I graduate – so that would be a 4-5 year commitment from now.
Thanks!
Is an MBA from Booth or Kellogg out of the question?
Most of the IB hiring in Chicago is MM firms such as William Blair, Baird, and Lincoln. Houlihan Lokey also has a strong presence in the city. That said, Booth or Kellogg would basically guarantee you a job. If you really want to do IB, focus on networking with guys at the firms I listed above.
IlliniProgrammer may be able to help you here
I have looked into the weekend programs at Booth and Kellogg. Thanks for the recommendation! I will look into those firms more!
The commitment may not be as long as you think. I know it's not that uncommon for a new employer to essentially buy out your commitment to stay with your old one by reimbursing them for your tuition. Not sure how the mechanics work for this exactly, but it may be an option.
I would try reaching out to a headhunter in the city, I know Lasalle network is pretty big, but I'm sure there are others that would be willing to take your call
I can't really help outside of the Chicago quant/HFT space.
within the quant space...what are your thoughts?
Just curious - how many hours do you work at the Big 3 in CF? Is it always 40 hours type deal? I grew up in Detroit and always considered working there because I know they pay top dollar in Detroit.
Any color on likely pay progression would be appreciated as well!
It honestly depends - I work in the Product Development area and sometimes my hours can be on the higher end (60+). Other parts of the business are usually around 40-45 hours. Also, they’re pretty generous about "company holidays". We get around 17 days of these (not including personal holidays).
For Pay: It's kind of easy to progress up (especially in a fast-paced area like PD) – but you get more leverage with an MBA. The pay increase is around 40%-50% more than the BBA pay. Let me know if you have more questions!
Thanks!
Appreciate the color.
So you might work 10-15 weeks of 60+ hours with the rest being 40-45 if you had to guess?
When you say "company holidays", just to clarify, this is on top of paid time off....I'd assume you get 15-20 days of PTO and then you get an additional 17 days on top of that? That's great. In CB I get 20 days off + 10 bank holidays.
That's a solid increase post MBA - sounds to be around $100k or so, with 6 years or so experience at that time? Can't go wrong with a free Ross MBA degree either.
What do would you guess is pay for a "middle manager" - not sure what the title would be but basically the spot that's almost guaranteed once you get to a point, but exceeding beyond that takes a lot of politics and luck ---Director, $200k?
EDIT: Lastly, what exactly do you do? Are you modeling forecasts in excel for how much it'll cost to develop a specific product? Any additional detail regarding a "Day in the life" would be much appreciated!
Maybe a little bit more like 20 weeks for the 60+ hours. Yes, it would be on top of paid holidays and it’s around 15 PTO days. The salary bump is a little bit more than $100k with the MBA (it's for sure more than $110k after bonuses). From rumors, managers (next level above senior analyst) make around or more 130k-140k before bonuses. I have no idea what directors make but its bank. I'd guess maybe $250k.
My role: I am a “consolidator” for a program/car that we are bringing to the market in the next two years. I don’t necessarily have a daily routine because my workload is based on a milestone reporting timeline (why the workload is more in some weeks than others). I have to gather all the inputs from all the parts of the business (ex. marketing, manufacturing, up-front capital, purchasing, etc) and consolidate the financials (Projected sales, NPV, IRR,PBT, OM, Etc) for the senior management to review. For some of the inputs I do the financial modeling (ex. Business case for introducing a sports trim to the market).
Just wondering, how is the pay for CB in Chicago?? And what do you exactly do in CB??
Thanks!
Damn, I might need to make the move to the big 3 haha $250k goes super far in Detroit. Thanks for the reply, btw.
I actually don't live in Chicago, I live in another big mid-western city - think Cinci/Cleveland,Columbus for a large regional bank ($100Bn+ assets).
Pay is pretty decent, I'm an Associate approaching 3 years of work exp (I lateraled from another Bank and basically skipped a year of "Analyst". Comp is about $75k all-in. Considering I NEVER work over 40 hours, it's pretty nice. I live very comfortably.
As far as my job, I underwrite loans for companies - which basically entails cash flow analysis, balance sheet examination (how levered with debt is it), examining structure of the deal (is X subsidiary guaranteeing the loan... is the HoldCo taking the debt & lending to all its subs), covenants, etc. It's honestly super easy. Analysis is relatively the same for all companies $10MM in revenue and up, although the larger the complex the more complex it gets.
I'm actually in commercial banking right now and not corporate (I was in corporate at my old bank)... the only distinction really is the size of the companies. Corporate at my bank is generally any company with greater than $250MM in revenue.
You might work more hours in corporate though.
Overall, a great lifestyle but I'm striving for IB because I'm a greedy a$$hole and it'll be hard to ever make over $150k in CB (in low COL cities). Only the top sales people make over that, generally speaking. There's the credit sides and sales side - I'm on credit right now. It would be hard to hit $125K in credit and that's probably 10 years down the line so slow progression.
Want To Work In Chicago (Originally Posted: 06/07/2008)
Lets say i go to a school in the east coast(columbia, mit), is it still possible/normal for me to work in chicago.
If you would like to stay in Corp. Development than there is a huge presence of Healthcare & Pharma companies in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago.
I'm not sure what you are worried about, nobody in Chicago has a problem with east coast people.
lol its easier to work in Chicago than in NYc; its called swimming downstream. say ur a VP at NYC then u might be assigned as a MD at a branch in Chi town. So ur in good shape
lol this is one of the dumbest posts I've ever read on this board, there are less jobs available then NYC so it may not be harder but certainly isn't easier. You certainly have never worked in Chicago iand it is anything but downstream. Hell the only banker Warren Buffett will deal with is in Chicago. I can't stand when idiot college kids that know nothing post on this board. stfu
Is it easier getting an initial offer out of undergrad? Or for consulting firms like Bain and McKinsey who have offices in Chicago? I think I'm more interested in industrials anyway and certainly wouldn't mind a lower cost of living...
what BBs have decent groups in Chicago and what are they?
Credit Suisse and UBS run the show in Chicago.
Building on your point Goldman and Morgan Stanley are big here as well, Hank Paulson spent his entire career in Goldman's Chicago office and I believe he stayed here even when he was CEO. I know Goldman's Chicago office has 900 employees making it one of their larger offices.
What kind of nonsense are you spewing. I know you're still in school, but you've been posting here long enough to know not to spew this kind of bullshit.
what are hours/bonuses like in chicago compared to nyc?
hours are the same, bonuses are a little lower though
but with cost of living in new york, your still saving a lot of money, or at least as an analyst you are
TheShow makes a good point. There are far fewer spots at the BB Chicago offices and a decent amount of very qualified candidates from UChicago, Northwestern, etc. This makes it very competitive.
Yeah. The simple fact of the matter is that NY is where the finance jobs are located for people at east coast schools, with only a very small number being able to land jobs in Chicago, LA, SF, and Houston. While it is true that firm in these locations recruit east coast people, their first round interview lists are typically much smaller (i.e. 100+ for NY vs. 15 for West Coast at some targets). I think someone's best bet is to land a SA position in NY first and, after receiving an offer to return FT, asking to be placed somewhere else. That mitigates some of the competition issues.
What if you want to work in NYC and your coming from Northwestern or UChicago. Are you chances hindered because you go to school in chicago?
Both schools place very well on WS.
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