Hi everyone,
I’ve been offered two FT positions in mid-tier BBs (think Citi/CS/DB), one in Paris and one in London. It’s for a strong coverage group. I’m an international student with a third-world passport.
London:
- large team
- strongish dealflow
- still the center of Finance in Europe
- great fit with the team I interned with
- might possibly be in a tough spot in the event of a financial Brexit since my BB would have to sponsor me again into Europe
Paris:
- would allow me to get a European citizenship
- would be working with only two people, an MD and an associate/VP
- getting paid in Euros would be good given the context
What would you do ?
Cheers
Do you speak French?
Yes I do!
Then Paris can be a more conservative option in your case
Personally I would always choose a major financial centre, rather than continental offices. Get exposure to more deals, be part of a more structured team, etc. Now, exceptions are if the location of the regional office is 100% perfect for you, e.g. if it’s your home town / your friends are there / family or significant other is there / you just love the place. In that case, it may (or not) make sense to sacrifice career / exit opps. Otherwise, I personally would choose a financial hub.
On the continent you either have a pretty good life or get crushed even worse due to lack of resources. Broadly think it is better in Paris. I know a few people who did their analyst Years somewhere "softer" and moved over for associate to a fin center.
Thanks to you both for giving an opinion. I’m not worried about lifestyle at this stage. I fully expect to have very bad hours for the next three years so I just prefer prioritizing my career.
I'm generally a fan of starting out in a hub (be it NYC or LDN) and then if you want to switch go to a regional hub / your home market. I worked a couple of years in London before relocating to the Continent and 1) it was a great experience in terms of type and style of work, 2) you'll build a significant network, 3) you have ton of fun in a place like NYC/LDN, 4) people in the business usually give you credit for having worked in a hub like NYC/LDN, hence you shouldn't have a lot of trouble recruiting for this market (in your case LDN to Paris).
Your situation is unique in the context of Brexit though, so it might make sense to consider Paris if you think you can attain European citizenship fairly easily. You can get citizenship in the UK as well after a couple of years, but Brexit obviously complicates all of that a bit. On the other hand, UK employers are usually quite open to sponsor non-EU employees (although we don't know how all of that plays out post Brexit).
tl;dr: London might be great for a couple of years work wise, but there's the visa considerations that you have to think about given your background
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