Here's my situation:
I have already accepted a job offer within Marketing Analytics from JP Morgan Chase through my summer internship. It will be located in Columbus, OH and the pay is decent for the number of hours that I will be working. The only problem I have with this is that it's in Columbus. I don't want to be spending my 20s in the middle of no where. Picking a job, for me, is not only a career choice but also a life choice.
I also have an interview with Delta Airlines for their Strategy Analyst position which is within my area of interest in terms of the work. The benefits to me are invaluable as well. I want to travel and experience the world while I'm young. Also, the position is located in Atlanta, GA. The only problem with this position is that it is within the airline industry which is no where near as stable as JP.
I know this is looking ahead because I haven't even received an offer from Delta, but I wanted to look forward and weight each option earlier rather than later. Which would be more beneficial for me? There is a possibility that I may want to go get my MBA in the future.
Columbus really isn't that bad.... Ohio State is there which means a SHIT ton of hot undergrads and grad students. With ohio state there you also get football and basketball to watch, the Columbus blue jackets are there if you like hockey.
Most importantly cost of living is super cheap. Don't let a location deter you from a job, unless there is a specific reason you do.. or don't want to go somewhere
22,000 at Georgia Tech and 14,000 at Emory if you're into indebted, unattractive, and unkempt nerdy girls.
31,000 at Georgia State and 24,600 at Kennesaw State if you're into party girls.
2,500 at Morehouse, 2,500 at Spelman, and 4,000 at Clark Atlanta if you're into black chicks.
I'd say Delta. I think you'd have more fun in ATL and as you mentioned, the travel benefits would be great.
Strategy Analyst will look good pretty good on Bschool apps. And you're absolutely correct about location being an important factor to consider (I learned that the hard way). Take the ATL gig.
When I went in for my Monday morning interview at Delta a few years back, once of the chicks I met with was noticeably out of it. Turns out on Friday she got a craving for French food and flew to Paris for the weekend on a whim. Not a bad lifestyle, if you ask me. While the perks were awesome, pay wasn't great (ended up taking a job in i-banking instead). People were awesome though, and obviously well traveled. ATL is awesome, but Columbus isn't bad either (grew up in Ohio.. Big Ten women are certainly attractive, but in Atlanta you have the SEC women)
dude I would take Delta out of those options...you get to fly anywhere in the world for free. Let that sink in. Have you ever flown across the world first class? I can tell you that it is an amazing experience, expecially for a kid in his 20's. Also- you usually are allowed a list of people who can fly extremely discounted (differs by airline of course) or even free. I don't need to tell you how many women you can whisk away to a foreign country for a weekend without them being all over you. I really can't stress these perks enough. I don't know what I would do without them. (My dad is a pilot for a major airline and I enjoy all of these perk, I am in my low 20's). The pay at airlines in strategy or a captain role is very good if not amazing relative to the hours (pilots on the biggest planes pull in $300k avg and work maybe 5-10 days a month), it is also interesting (many have their own trading desks for fuel hedging etc.) I think it is a great angle for b school. I will end it on this note...The last time I left the country (about a year and a half ago...damn banking) I was flying home from a trip to a few countries in Asia and I was flying from Tokyo-NYC and sat right next to Jay-Z the whole way home. JAY FRIGGEN Z.
The flight attendant tried to sell him a charger for his iphone and blackberry...he said no.
aside from location and how fucking cool working for delta would be, i have been told on a few occasions by both relatives and bosses who have been in their respective industries for a while, that marketing teams tend to be the first to go in a crunch. i am not exactly sure how marketing analytics fits into this bit of advise, but from what i have heard, those people tend to be seen as the most replaceable or the least necessary (not saying that's what i think, just what i've heard) when money is a little tight.
Thanks for the responses guys! But what about the stability of the job? Is it even something I really need to consider when thinking about my first job out of college? The airlines industry is volatile at times and even though Delta recently came out of bankruptcy and has been performing better due to the merger, there's a much lower chance that JP will go under.
Hey nkoh, I am in the same spot as you. What did you end up doing?
Delta all the way
Delta, if you can swing it. It's only your first job out of college-how much long-term industry stability do you really need? Trust me, you'll have PLENTY of time to sit in a cubicle over the course of your career. The opportunity to fly anywhere on any given weekend would seal the deal for me, alongside the job itself being cool and interesting. One of my frat bros. spent a couple years at Jetblue in a very similar role and eventually exited to an ERP/Data Analytics firm for the airline industry-and is a VP. The travel stories this guy has before he got married? I wish he'd been given his own reality show. Both jobs will give you decent options in the long run so why not have as much fun as you can now before life REALLY hits you over the head?
The old me would have taken the JP Morgan job for the same reasons as you. But now knowing what I know and with a few yrs of corporate torture under my belt, I'd go Delta if I could get it.
Delta strategy is a mess right now. Brought in former MD at Barclay's to run the unit and there is a big clash between ex-IB and corp fin people. Expect to work more hours than most corporate strategy units and to run model after model in Excel.
Also, you will be flying standby for a long time, so just make sure you set your expectations appropriately.
That being said, Delta is clearly the superior option if you want to work in finance/strategy. You will get great exposure, the brand is strong, complexity of work is challenging and you do get great benefits. Pay is on par with the industry, slightly below general F500 pay.
In the first sentence you wrote that you've already accepted the offer for JPM, I'd air on the side of caution especially when dealing with reneging.
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