Lateraling as an Associate vs. Senior Associate

A few factors to consider:

• Leave as Associate
  • Pros
    • Faster exit (if you're miserable and/or just wasting time at current shop)
    • Bottom of pyramid so technically more slots (though requires often associate turnover given most funds aren't randomly expanding associate classes given slow market)
  • Cons
    • High likelihood of repeating part of program (e.g., leave partway through 2nd year --> Expect to likely repeat that year)
    • Need to re-prove yourself to earn promotion and risk switching firms again in 1-2 years if promotion isn't achieved at new shop
• Wait Until SA
  • Pros
    • Get to leverage years of experience and new title (i.e., likely to retain SA title upon lateral and won't have to repeat portions of associate years)
    • Achieving SA at your firm (if indeed a promotion point) helps vouch for your capabilities and performance, leading to potentially fewer questions on abilities in lateral interview
    • Buys you some time for the PE hiring market / fundraising market to ideally improve
  • Cons
    • Longer wait before making a change
    • Risk of not getting the promotion at current firm and being in a tougher spot (near-term exit, more questions from lateral firms, etc.)
    • Current market is tight and have seen friends looking for SA spots (indeed more limited slots than associate) for 9-12 months with limited success, especially if you're set on a specific city

Given all the above, I'd start networking in the desired city and feel out the hiring environment, particularly for firms of interest, so you can start to see which path makes more sense, while still collecting a paycheck in the meantime.