JP Morgan Financial Associate Leadership Program vs. EY Transfer Pricing Consulting

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japped187

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So I got a offer from JP Morgan in its finance division and also an offer from Ernst and Young in its Transfer Pricing group. Both positions are for offices in Japan.
From my research, Transfer Pricing seems fairly interesting but could be limiting in terms of exit opps. JP Morgan has a more prestigious name and I get to take part in a 3 yr rotational leadership program (similar to FMP of GE?), but it is back office so it may be that the work would be a little boring.
As of now I want to be able to use my accounting skills (I like accounting) and actually enjoy, or at least feel satisfaction in, the work that I do. Which offer in your guys’ opinion is better?
 
JP. Transfer pricing is basically tax stuff and as you said, exit opp is really narrow. plus, it may not be that exciting.
 
Transfer pricing is known as the golden handcuff. Comfortable job and good pay but very specialized and narrow. If you plan to have a family, go for TP.
 
What would typically exit opps be after a stint in the rotational program?
Would being in the MO/BO hinder my career path if I want to get into, say, Equity Research in the future?
Also, how is the work like in the finance division of an Ibank?
 
Rotational programs are almost always crap. You learn a little of everything and a lot of nothing. Other employees will resent you because you are being unfairly elevated above them for no good reason. When the program is finally done you will have a sense of entitlement that will make it difficult to do any low level job. You will probably either quit eventually or not be offered a position. Most likely scenario is that you become enamored with getting an MBA and leave, where you can meet similarly minded people (i.e. who want things handed to them and don’t want to work). It doesn’t end well.
Maybe I’m being a little extreme but I hope you get my point. Get a real job and do it well. The EY job sounds like a real job.
 
Dante, do you work in TP?? lol
I agree that the work sounds kind of interesting, but the fact that it being so niche does concern me.
From looking at the responses on this thread, it seems that JP Morgan is the way to go. I still have a M&A Advisory final interview coming up with EY (totally different divisions) so I’ll make my final decision after getting the results.
Thanks.
 
japped187 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> What would typically exit opps be after a stint in
> the rotational program?
> Would being in the MO/BO hinder my career path if
> I want to get into, say, Equity Research in the
> future?
>
> Also, how is the work like in the finance division
> of an Ibank?
It is quite hard to transfer to ER. I have heard lots of horror stories for Product Control - Monster traders and so on. It really depends on which part of Finance you are with also. THere is expense management, legal entity controlling, product control, valuation control etc. For expense management I was told it is crappy during budgeting season (which is now actually).
 
japped187 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Dante, do you work in TP?? lol
> I agree that the work sounds kind of interesting,
> but the fact that it being so niche does concern
> me.
>
> From looking at the responses on this thread, it
> seems that JP Morgan is the way to go. I still
> have a M&A Advisory final interview coming up with
> EY (totally different divisions) so I’ll make my
> final decision after getting the results.
>
> Thanks.
Dude. I’m in marketing. I have no idea what TP is. I just have a problem with rotational programs in general. Niche is good not bad. Think like a lawyer: the more arcane your work the more you get paid.
 
Danteshek Wrote:
——————————————————-
> japped187 Wrote:
> ————————————————–
> —–
> > Dante, do you work in TP?? lol
> > I agree that the work sounds kind of
> interesting,
> > but the fact that it being so niche does
> concern
> > me.
> >
> > From looking at the responses on this thread,
> it
> > seems that JP Morgan is the way to go. I still
> > have a M&A Advisory final interview coming up
> with
> > EY (totally different divisions) so I’ll make
> my
> > final decision after getting the results.
> >
> > Thanks.
>
> Dude. I’m in marketing. I have no idea what TP
> is. I just have a problem with rotational
> programs in general. Niche is good not bad.
> Think like a lawyer: the more arcane your work
> the more you get paid.
I agree that EVENTUALLY niche is good, but I dunno if I want to overspecialize at the start of my career. Don’t you think it’s better to get a more broad skill set at the beginning and then specialize?
 
i work in TP for a big 4. I started only about 2 weeks ago. I think very little is known about TP here, and so there is a lot of misinformation about.
It actually is a very interesting area. Everyone who says its just tax is very wrong, it is ultimately performed for tax purposes, but the work is extremely different. You should probably try to get a hold of TP documentation report for a company if you can to see what is done. You learn a lot about a company and what it is doing. YOu need to know it quite well to learn about the property that is being transfered, the risks (credit analysis, economic condiitions, etc its a massive list that all can affect pricing) of the company, and all about the industry and the other companies in it for benchmarking purposes.
So I think if people really understood what TPers do properly there is really a lot of transferable skills for things like ER etc. But since they don’t maybe this means it would be hard.
You really need to choose though what it is you want to do and what you enjoy, perhaps this is hard though and a generalist program like the JP one is what you should do.
 
japped187 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Danteshek Wrote:
> ————————————————–
> —–
> > japped187 Wrote:
> >
> ————————————————–
>
> > —–
> > > Dante, do you work in TP?? lol
> > > I agree that the work sounds kind of
> > interesting,
> > > but the fact that it being so niche does
> > concern
> > > me.
> > >
> > > From looking at the responses on this thread,
> > it
> > > seems that JP Morgan is the way to go. I
> still
> > > have a M&A Advisory final interview coming up
> > with
> > > EY (totally different divisions) so I’ll make
> > my
> > > final decision after getting the results.
> > >
> > > Thanks.
> >
> > Dude. I’m in marketing. I have no idea what
> TP
> > is. I just have a problem with rotational
> > programs in general. Niche is good not bad.
> > Think like a lawyer: the more arcane your work
> > the more you get paid.
> I agree that EVENTUALLY niche is good, but I dunno
> if I want to overspecialize at the start of my
> career. Don’t you think it’s better to get a more
> broad skill set at the beginning and then
> specialize?
Maybe. I believe it’s best to specialize as early as possible. The idea is that when you find yourself unemployed and looking, there will only be a VERY few people out there with your skills. You will get all the interviews in your area. If you’re just another generalist finance guy, you might have more trouble getting ahead.
In my case there are probably fewer than 75 people in the LA area with under 2-5 years experience in institutional client service and marketing. I get called right away if there is an opening.
I’m not saying you should join EY or JP. I just think it’s not as easy a choice as some are suggesting.
 
+1 Danteshek. When I was laid off in May, I got job offer in 13 days because–even at the age of 23–I had specialized knowledge and skills acquired working in affordable housing. There aren’t a ton of job openings for specialized areas, but there are usually some, and you will get called back immediately and hired quickly. There are too many people with general finance/real estate knowledge. I think you’ll find that niches are where the money is (if you work for a company). Firms can’t afford to lose people with this special knowledge. At my first job, my manager gave his 4-week notice that he was leaving, and they pleaded with him not to leave and offered him a lot more money and allowed him to work from home twice a week. The money my current firm pays me for the amount of work I do is truly obscene–and it’s because I have knowledge that about 20 people in my metropolitan area (about 8 million people) under the age of 25 possess.
I definitely recommend specializing if you like the area.
 
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