Bay Area job market

Q

QuoteBoy

I am seriously considering going to SF with my job. Its an equity operations/trade support job. What's the deal out there w/ finance/wall st. type jobs? I know the tech job world is bad, but is it the same kind of barren waste land that I hear for finance?
I'm from NYC and its bad here, but I could do fine, if I lost my job. Just seeing what's the story out there.
 
I've lived in the bay area for the last 7 years. Tech
is king here and the news you hear from this area
is going to reflect that. This place booms and busts
and I came in as a boom was getting into full
swing with the internet stuff.

We just busted and there are job cuts galore but
the already (ridiculously) hot housing market is
continuing to be hot! So you can't get a job and if
you could you can't afford to buy a house and your
rent sucks you dry.

This place plays by its own rules economically and
when it favors you it's unbelievable and when it's
against you it is a killer.

JT
 
Thank you.
NYC and tristate area is the same deal, though rents are noticeably cheaper out there. I know my way around in NY and that gives me the edge. But going out there, its the other way around. I say forget tech jobs. I'm all wall st.
What's the deal for wall streeters? ie condition of the PSX? big firms? is there much hiring??
I get the impression the big boys maintain satellite/small offices for banking, and relationship mgmt, but the rest is a few decent buyside firms, small hedgefunds and such.

thanks
 
QuoteBoy, the pickings out here are pretty slim, and you have observed things pretty accurately with your conclusion that there are just a "few" satellite offices of large sell-side investment banks . . . Bear, Merrill, Goldman, CSFB, Deutsche Bank, Mellon Capital, Susquehanna, and SG Cowan all have some rather "basic" presence here, along with some niche players like First Albany and Pacific Growth Equities. B of A Securities is basically gone.

Of course, there is the world's largest index fund, Barclays, and there are also a few other fairly large mutual funds like Dresdner/RCM, Dodge & Cox, The Fremont Group, Fisher Investments, Franklin Templeton, Bailard, Biehl & Kaiser, RS Investments, Insight Capital Research & Management, and Seneca Capital to name a few - - - with a smattering of small hedge-funds all over the place ( but as you well know, it doesn't take a lot of people to run/manage a couple hundred million ).

By and large San Francisco is not a big hub of financial market activity. The PSE, for all intent and purpose is on "life-support".

Most funds and securities firms that have employment openings, especially in the trade clearing/back office/fund accounting area will advertise online at the Security Analysts of San Francisco website:

http://www.sasf.org/cfmfiles/home/indlnk.asp

Hope this helps!
 
There used to be a placement firm that placed plenty of well paid financial services jobs back when I was there about five years ago. I think it was call Key Resources. It was mostly back office, compliance type stuff. The pay scales were good (plenty above 100k), but this was when the whole town was hot.

Jay
 
The detailed responses are greatly appreciated.

ultimately my middle office job is not the career of choice.
The corp. is trying to set up a 2nd operation for business continuity in case nyc blows up. The goal is a fully capable front, and back office. It should be a "great opportunity" over 3+ years. Question I'm wrestling w/ is, who is it a great opp. for?
I'm willing to short that opportunity. more like a syberian outpost. regardless, we've gotten lots of resumes of highly overqualified people in SF trying to get the job openings. many seemingly willing to take whatever they can get for entry-level work. They're hungry for sure... after reading other threads about SF I can see why.

Its late and I'm up researching. Is this my competition?
Will I go out there and find I'm not in a good employment situation, w/ zero networks and a comparably 2nd rate resume? Hmmm. just ignore this blabbering.

I can't stop thinking about it. I will probably go, but not b/c of the job which is not the kind of job to move for , but rather the weather and other opps.
Whatever the deal is, I'm locking down the hatches, getting frugal. bank $$, and go all out w/ work. Interstingly, after much research, its is feasible for me to live cheaper and better out there, not to mention the weather.

Any other links for me to review for firms in that area are GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Quoteboy.
 
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