Imaginary Career Q&A

You put your head down. You work hard.  And before you know it, another year has come and gone.

We talk to BV professionals who are lifting their heads above water to see what the rest of the BV world might look like.  Although this conversation is imaginary, the questions are real.

Where are the jobs?  Is there any market that really stands out?

BV jobs are everywhere because BV is everywhere.  The number of jobs in a particular market is a function of its size.  Demand is higher in Atlanta than in St. Louis; higher in Chicago than Atlanta; higher in New York than in Chicago.

So, if I wanted to move to some out-of-the-way place, could I still work in valuation?

Allowing for trade-offs, yes.  Obviously, compensation in Des Moines won’t be it is in Los Angeles.  But neither is the cost of living.  With a few exceptions, the further away you get from major metro areas the less likely you are to work on sophisticated and complex engagements, or with large clients.  Maybe this doesn’t matter to you.  Maybe it does.  You’ll have to be the judge.

What are the other trade-offs?

Your earning power can drop in connection with a geographic move.  If you’re responsible for revenue generation, for example, clients may or may not follow you either because you are no longer close by or your new employer doesn’t do the engagements they have.  Compromise will be required.

I might be more interested if I could improve my compensation by moving.

If the only question is whether there are places where you could earn more than you’re making now, the answer is nearly always yes.  The real question is: What are you willing to do to get it?  Are you OK with expanding your workweek by five to ten hours a week?  Can you relocate in pursuit of that better position?

Think about the concept of your “universe of opportunity”.  The two drivers which have the most to do with the size of that universe are money and geography.  The more flexible you can be in either – or both – the larger that universe, and the more likely you are to find a new position that will truly advance your career.

If you’re like most professionals, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. Maybe you’re in the right place for your career. That’s true for nine out of ten people we talk to.  But isn’t it worth a phone call to find out for sure?  Contact us to schedule that conversation.