Hi Guys,
Wondering if there are any broad, universally accepted differences between doing the job (as a 1st year IB Analyst) in Boston versus NYC? Obviously, it seems like Boston compensation is discounted a bit to NYC, but, are Boston hours correspondingly less? Is the culture different?
Thanks!
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I'm pretty sure that NYC in general for IB outranks Charlotte, boston, and all others. It is in the financial capital of the country
NYC is the Financial capital of the world. Boston, LA and Charlotte are all similar: slower pace, better cost of living, less deal flow, fewer opportunities, less competition, etc. They are second tier markets.
San Fran is also far behind NYC overall for finance but the leader in its particular industry (tech). Houston is similar for oil & gas.
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Yeah - definitely not disputing that NYC outranks Boston - just wondering if there are any on-the-job differences that are generally accepted? Do Boston investment bankers generally work less than NYC bankers? Is Boston IB culture generally different than Wall Street culture?
This entirely depends on the bank and group. Lazard has a TMT team in Boston that is known to have some of the toughest hours in the firm. You are likely to see similar hours and relatively close comp among the EB/MM groups in Boston. There are quite a few boutiques in Boston that are likely to have fewer hours and lower comp than NY, however.
Second this. The top groups in Boston will likely be on par or worse than NYC hours. Culture is dependent on the individual group. I know of some in Boston that are fine with letting their analysts take 2-3 hour gym/lunch breaks anytime during the week, while others are glued to their screens/phone 7 days a week.
When deciding NYC vs. Boston - I would think about exit opps as the biggest factor. Boston's banking presence is very minimal compared to NYC, with only a handful of reputable groups/firms. This makes lateraling within a firm or to another BB/MM/EB much more difficult if you want to stay in Boston. While there are a good chunk of solid PE/HF/Mezz in Boston - much of the Associates/VPs come from BBs in NYC.
Yeah, thanks - makes a lot of sense.
Given that possible lack of exit opps in Boston, would it be reasonable to try to exit to a firm in New York? Is entry-level IB experience in Boston viewed as inferior to that from New York?
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