Hi mates,
I am quite interested in knowing about analyst jobs at the 3 big agencies. Does anyone have info about salary, working hours, exit opps, etc.? Is there big difference between the three?
Cheers
Without being facetious… “I dont think anyone works there by choice.” The rating process is incredibly procedural and the decisions are made through huge bureaucracy. Its mostly operations/tech/sales. Anyone that has a job that can be described as an “analyst” is trying to figure out how to jump to a financial institution. I’m sure the executives/MDs make decent money but overall comp is lower than at an bank.
Thanks for your reply, any insight is much appreciated.
The thing is that based on the job offer that i’ve seen, it seems quite a decent option. Do you know how much financial modeling you do there? It’s something I’m seeing on the job descriptions quite often.
I will figure out in some days, but I might end up having two offers: Valuation and business modeling (mainly project finance) at a B4, or credit analyst at a top three agency. Can anyone help me on pros and cons?
Thanks!
Anyone?
Not sure why danv0330 thinks it’s mostly tech/sales/ops, but that’s false. I work at one of the big 3, and I would consider the work as similar to credit research. There is quite a bit of financial modeling involved, and if you’re a quant person then you may work with a team that does advanced modeling.
Here are some of what I consider pros/cons.
Pros:
- Good work life balance. usually 9-5 or 6.
- Great learning opportunity
- Exit opps are pretty good. I’ve seen some head to ibanking, some to credit/equity research, some to commercial banking
- Not super cutthroat
Cons:
- Bureaucratic (but you’re going to see this at any big firm)
- Less pay than banks, but more than B4
- Not a lot of chances to move up
Hope that helps!
Thanks for your reply d-bid.
I have a couple of questions reg your reply though:
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Great learning opportunity: for how long have you been working at a CRA? how good are the people with whom you work (technically speaking)?
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Not super cutthroat: could you explain this a bit more please?
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Bureaucratic: I currently work at a B4 and the bureaucratics that I see here are unbelievable. Some days I feel I’m more an AML or KYC person than any other thing…
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Less pay than banks, but more than B4: well, this is normal, isn’t it? You actually mentioned that working hours are 9-6 so I think is acceptable to have lower salary than “banks” (I guess you mean IB). However, I think that salaries are pretty decent for what I’ve seen in Glassdor. Bonuses are residual though, aren’t they?
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Not a lot of chances to move up: why? could you explain how’s the hierarchy at a CRA and also number of years that are expected at each level?
I have an interview with a CRA, for its Corporate Finance Group in particular, so an answer to the above would be much appreciated.
Cheers!
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Been working for about a year. Most people seem pretty smart and competent to me. But then again I’m in FIG, which is more challenging than Corporates (non financial institutions).
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People aren’t looking to suck up to higher ups or stab each other in the back in order to have better political standing.
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Less pay than banks as in total compensation. Until this year’s salary bump, entry level analysts from banks and CRAs actually had about the same salary. The only difference is bonuses. I’d take glassdoor’s reviews with a grain of salt because from what I am seeing some of the data are outdated.
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Org structure is kind of flat in order to lower costs, so it’d be a bit hard to get to sr level mgmt. For my firm, it’d take about 1-3yrs to get promoted. However, I believe that it’s not only contingent on skill level and knowledge, but also on the group you’re with.
If you’re interviewing for the Corporate Finance Group as in Finance team, then what I said won’t really apply to you. What I was talking about was for the Ratings team. But in any case, good luck with your interview!