Tough Choice To Make

All,

I’m an associate in a niche area of banking and I got fucked on my comp this year (can’t really go into the situation, but it’s not related to my performance or the groups). I’m fairly deep in the interview process with a PE firm that is a leader in the space, but it’s for an analyst role in a much higher cost of living city. After giving this situation some thought it looks like my options are 1) take the Analyst job even though it would be a demotion and huge increase in cost of living 2) use the Analyst offer to force a pay increase on my current bank. I don’t really care for banking but the pay I negotiate for would be substantial and I think there is a decent chance I get it given our specialization (I.e. difficult/expensive to hire a replacement). Does anyone have any thoughts or advice on this situation?

Thanks

7 Comments
 
 

Think about the upside. You're working in a niche area, which means any PE offer you would get would be rare; you consider yourself underpaid, which means that the bank has little respect for you and/or no substantial interest in that niche area, which means they could decide to get rid of the division and lay you off. Go where the upward opportunity is

 

Look - if your bank screwed you over for comp this year, they still have the opportunity to do so in the coming years as bonus is a large chunk of TC for banking. Even if your base gets a bump after negotiating, you're still at their mercy unless you get bonuses written in black/white, which I doubt is likely

Your career's a long one, don't think of it in short timeframes. And the PE opp you described with an industry leader sounds pretty good coming from your niche banking space

 

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