Is banking worth it without the salary?
I'm a UK international student that couldn't secure a job after graduation but just got offered an IB Analyst position back home in Mexico. I can either stay here and try and secure whatever BO/MO job I can to make 2.5k pounds a month like most grads or go back to Mexico and work in IB only to make about 2k pounds a month but live with my parents and have 0 expenses. Its worth noting that banking culture in Latin America involves working the usual 80-100 hours a week but for really lack lustre deals in a tiny team (unless you're at a BB or EB). I've worked hard getting good marks from a semi target (think Bristol, Edinburgh, bath) and multiple banking internships (ib and commercial) for me to just give up and move back home for a mediocre salary I could make in the UK. There's more details I could give but this is getting long so feel free to leave any opinions or slander, anything that can help me think about my decision are welcome. (To clarify I like living in both countries just as much, I am only preoccupied about career growth and compensation.)
In general, no job is worth it without the salary.
ik, but 12 months of job searching with no luck leave you asking dumb questions
Exactly
Kinda a tricky one. You could be in IB, get good exposure or stay in the UK and hope to find something similar. What matters here is where you see yourself five or ten years down the road. If you want to be in Mexico, I would say do IB there. If you want to stay in the UK, why not find something similar and continue to work towards moving into IB later down the road?
Also, keep this in mind. It will be very hard to live with your parents unless they live next to your office. A commute on top of an 80/hr per week role is very challenging. So in that regard, I would not assume you would be living rent free. Counter to that, hopefully the cost of living is cheaper in Mexico than the UK.
If you’re bilingual and in UK with a business degree, why not look into working an FX desk?
ty for the feedback. I love the UK but my plan has always been to move back to Mexico eventually after 5ish years of work to start a family. I see London more as a possible
pit stop rather than the final destination. Issue is mexicans and other latinamericans have a white saviour complex where they overvalue people with international experience in EU/USA regardless of their job title, so working in London would give me some great exit ops once i’m back in latam even if i worked MO/BO roles.
Regarding job search in Ldn and the EU. I grew up in the US for a couple of years and score anywhere between a C1-C2 on language tests so my english isn’t an issue. I would love to work in s&t at a desk, even operations at a trading firm seems cool, tbh I much prefer that over IB. However visa sponsorship (even though I can stay here for 2 more years without the need for sponsorship) and lack of experience in a desk, haven’t helped the cause. I’m sure I have the technical skills to work a desk, I’ve worked hard to hone the skills and learn about markets and sales in my free time, but like i stated in my other comment i’ve been applying for close to 12 months and starting to burn out. Whenever I’ve gotten interviews and the rare superday/assesment-centre, feedback has been really ambiguous and hasn’t helped at all. I can only imagine it came down to fit.
As for commuting and cost of living in Mexico, not an issue in my case. Grew up upper middle class (for mexican standards) so I have a car and live close to my possible office. So I would save most of my salary, where as a London job I would make a lot and maybe that’s good for salary progression but expenses would eat into a significant chunk of that.
This is really helpful context. If it’s already your goal to return to Mexico and you have a shot of making it to an IB shop, you’ve got everything right in front of you.
You mentioned a premium being placed on overseas work, but you at least have an overseas education which should help in that regard (hopefully). Likewise, if your family is close and well off, that’s the perfect stepping stone to building a name in the city you return to.
I recognize you want to spend more time in Europe, but a bird in hand is better than two in the bush. Assuming you’re of a normal college graduate age, now is the time to do IB, not when you’re 30 and finally found another open door. It’s a young man’s game.
Choice is up to you, that’s just my thought. Best of luck with whatever route you choose!
If you want to be in Mexico eventually, take the job in Mexico. You build relationships locally and get stuck in to the market dynamics. Generally in secondary markets, there is a lot of prestige and access that comes with being a banker.
This is why i’m leaning towards taking the offer + don’t want to be unemployed. Even though the hours suck i’ve heard that after a year or two compensation gets decent, maybe only 40% of a primary market salary but life in mexico is still very cheap despite all the expats moving in and raising prices.
No
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