Lateral Move in ER from Minneapolis to NYC

I'm currently working as a pricing strategy analyst in tech industry in SF and I'm looking to move to equity research. After a lot of networking for the past 6 months, I've been so far offered a job in a small boutique in Minneapolis but still have difficulties to persuade larger MM firms in New York, which is my ultimate destination, due to lack of direct experience in equity research. How difficult is it to move from Minneapolis after a year of building experience as an associate? Would you take the job in MN or push harder to get something in NY ?

P.S. Currently doing CFA Level 1 in December. Have previous internship in IB, MSc in Finance from the LSE.

 

I am in a somewhat similar position and what I ultimately decided was that its best to take a small step in the right direction, than to keep waiting for something that might not happen. So yes, take the ER position, and from day 1 figure out how to get to NY.

BUT I will say (and this will probably negate my point above) it seems like you have an impressive background/credentials and are qualified for an ER position in a tech coverage group. I did a lot of informational interviews over the past few months with ER Associates/Analysts and the large majority of them came from industry like you and lateraled to ER because they have expertise/connections in their industry, even though they didn't actually have ER experience.

 

Depends on how risk-averse you are. I happen to think that you should always keep moving toward your goal whether you're moving by miles or inches. If you're young, don't have kids or an SO to worry about, why not try out a new city and get more practical experience that could lead to your dream offer?

I can't comment on how difficult it would be to move after a year in MN, but think about this: the reason you're getting dinged from firms in NY is b/c you don't have ER experience, which is what you would have if you took the offer. Especially if you keep getting the same response from all of these firms. Another thing you didn't mention is how many firms you talked to that said they wanted to see you have experience. Was it 2? Those could be exceptions. Was it 50? If so, take the offer.

Another suggestion would be to talk to someone who works in ER now that you've been networking with and ask them what they think about your offer and can tell you what they would do in that situation. That might not be the choice you make, but I'd heavily consider it. Good luck!

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 

I talked to about 25 firms, in total 40 analysts and associates. I went directly to the analysts since I believe they're the ultimate decision makers but talked to associates to learn more on how I can position myself better. From these 25 firms , 7 did have an opening when I spoke to the analyst and 2/3 still have a position open. When I talked to the analysts they all loved my background and industry insight but when it came to offering the role, they went with someone with more experience. I understand some of those guys were total jerks and have made similar promises to other as well but I can't help to notice the experience part can be important, Hence I thought maybe it'd be better to act on what's already on the table while working on the pending openings.

 
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