How common is it to move from a non-MC/SC City firm to a US firm

[jimothy]

I have a TC at an international City firm but I'm quite interested in exploring a move to a US firm at either on qualification or at a junior level.

I was wondering how common this is? How hard is it to move from a non-MC/SC firm to a US one? Is it really dependent on the type of work that you did as a trainee or do they really care about where you trained?

 

[whisperingrock]

I have a TC at an international City firm but I'm quite interested in exploring a move to a US firm at either on qualification or at a junior level.

I was wondering how common this is? How hard is it to move from a non-MC/SC firm to a US one? Is it really dependent on the type of work that you did as a trainee or do they really care about where you trained?

It's not uncommon by any means, and It's going to depend on what area you choose to qualify into, the quality of the work you did, and how the market is standing at the time. Where you trained may matter but not as much unless the differences are stark in terms of clients and the type of work. Easiest way to see how likely the move is to see if anyone at your TC firm did end up going to a US firm you're interested in.

If asking this question is prompted by the big salary increases that have been written about lately, remember that you earn that money in blood sweat and tears. Several of my close friends were associates at US firms and left for the likes of MC firms because the money just isn't worth never having a moments rest from work.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I have a TC at an international City firm but I'm quite interested in exploring a move to a US firm at either on qualification or at a junior level.

I was wondering how common this is? How hard is it to move from a non-MC/SC firm to a US one? Is it really dependent on the type of work that you did as a trainee or do they really care about where you trained?

It will be a bit of both - depending on the firm you are aiming for, they may care about brand name more so than work, but it could easily be vice versa for the next firm.

With your TC secure, the best thing to do is to ensure your chances are stronger by the factors you have some influence over, that may include your seat choices but ultimately will be down to how hard you work, how well you network and the opportunities you make/secure for yourself.

As suggested above, the best way to work out what your chances could be (on some level) is to see if people have made the same type of move. LinkedIn is really easy to do that if you use the search function to the best of its abilities.