Normal
Speaking from the conversations I’ve heard 5-6 PQE associates have, the resounding agreement is that if you’re very ambitious, ticking off a US firm on your CV will benefit you in the long run. It is VERY common to hear that associates do 2-3 years at a US firm while earlier in their career and then transition to a MC or SC firm when they want to slow down or work at a firm with a different structure (in particular, a bigger team - as many US firms have small teams you are likely to be saddled with far more responsibility of a more general nature earlier on, whereas MC/SC firms will have more space for you to work as part of a very specialized bigger team). Anecdotally, all the associates I know seem to share the sentiment that once you’ve got US firm experience, it opens many more doors to you to go anywhere else after that, whereas moving “up” from a MC/SC firm to a US firm is seen as a more difficult step. Ultimately it is up to you and what you’d like out of your career. Working at a MC firm, you’ll still work plenty of weekends depending on your practice group. Probably less than at a US firm but all in all, I don’t think you’ll be shocked at what a huge difference the workload is. I think the more important consideration is what sort of environment you want to work in. If you love being part of a bigger team and finding your niche within that, a MC firm might be a better place for you for the time being. Regarding pay, as an NQ it certainly is a reasonably large difference, but as an experienced associate after taxes it really isn’t all its cracked up to be.Just my two cents!
Speaking from the conversations I’ve heard 5-6 PQE associates have, the resounding agreement is that if you’re very ambitious, ticking off a US firm on your CV will benefit you in the long run. It is VERY common to hear that associates do 2-3 years at a US firm while earlier in their career and then transition to a MC or SC firm when they want to slow down or work at a firm with a different structure (in particular, a bigger team - as many US firms have small teams you are likely to be saddled with far more responsibility of a more general nature earlier on, whereas MC/SC firms will have more space for you to work as part of a very specialized bigger team). Anecdotally, all the associates I know seem to share the sentiment that once you’ve got US firm experience, it opens many more doors to you to go anywhere else after that, whereas moving “up” from a MC/SC firm to a US firm is seen as a more difficult step. Ultimately it is up to you and what you’d like out of your career. Working at a MC firm, you’ll still work plenty of weekends depending on your practice group. Probably less than at a US firm but all in all, I don’t think you’ll be shocked at what a huge difference the workload is. I think the more important consideration is what sort of environment you want to work in. If you love being part of a bigger team and finding your niche within that, a MC firm might be a better place for you for the time being. Regarding pay, as an NQ it certainly is a reasonably large difference, but as an experienced associate after taxes it really isn’t all its cracked up to be.
Just my two cents!
