A career NOT on Wall Street?

[Grandus]

Hey everyone,

Next year I'll be starting my MFE here in the igloo town of Montreal. Assuming I'd like to stay here, what do I need to expect career-wise? I know the big bucks are down south on Wall Street, but how much lower would my salary be in a city of the size of Montreal? Will I hit a ''roof'' early in my career by staying here?

This is not just about the salary, I'm just looking to fully understand the difference between a career in a big city like Montreal (that is not necessarily known for being a gold mine for quants) and NYC and the few cities around the world that are its equivalent.

Thanks!

Patrick

PS: If anyone has a few numbers it would be much appreciated. I did do my research before posting but couldn't find quite what I need.

 

[JulianT]

Assuming you want to work in Montreal, I hope you are fluent in French. Entry level positions do not exist without it, though given you are doing an MFE, I'm assuming you are at HEC. The Montreal finance community is small to start, so it will really depend on what you want to do. Quant, as has been said multiple times, is a very general term. Do you want to go to the buy side or sell side? What do you see yourself doing on either side?
The difference between a provincial town like Montreal vs an big city like NYC is opportunity. The number of sell side gigs available in Montreal in any year can be counted on two hands if you are lucky. Toronto has a much higher count. There is the whole lifestyle aspect too
The biggest impediment to making big bucks in Montreal is you tax bill...

 

[Grandus]

You guessed right about HEC. As for what I see myself doing... it's too early to say for now. This is part of the reason I asked the question in the first place to be honest.

Your answer was helpful. So Investment Banking is not a very realistic option in Montreal but PE, Hedge Funds, and asset management are fine?

And yeah, I am aware that the tax bill will rob me blind...

Thanks.

 

[JulianT]

This is part of the reason I asked the question in the first place to be honest.

Before trying to figure out how much money you are going to make, maybe consider figuring out what you want to do. People who join this industry for the money don't last. It isn't an easy field to go into, or stay in, and you should really enjoy what you are doing. Making a bunch of money doing it should just be a nice perk. The amount of money you will make at an entry level is directly related to what you will be doing, more so than which shop you will go to, at least in Montreal, to my knowledge.

Your answer was helpful. So Investment Banking is not a very realistic option in Montreal but PE, Hedge Funds, and asset management are fine?

I think you misunderstood what I said. My meaning was the set of entry level jobs in a large financial center is strictly larger than the set of entry level jobs in a small city. That being said, the relation holds for the set of applicants in a big city vs Montreal, where there is the language constraint.