Credit Analyst at a small bank

Question

I am graduating in May and still looking for a job. I recently got an offer to be a credit analyst at a small unknown commercial bank (~800 million in assets) and it would mainly involve looking at business loans. I have also interviewed with State Street for an entry level accounting job and Prudential for a sales support role in the past week and am waiting to hear back from both of them. I am ultimately looking to go into some kind of equity/fixed income research role. Should I accept the credit analyst job or turn it down and hope for one of the others?

ec_test · Answer

Hi cbil31!I'm a bank regulator and my answer may be a little biased since I work in the industry, so be critical of my opinion. I would be inclined to take the credit analyst job over the Prudential sales job. First, the banking industry has a lot of opportunities for upper mobility. If you learn the nuts and bolts of credit analysis, you can move up the ladder throughout your career. Second, if you want to get a job in equity/fixed income, the credit analysis job would be a good start. It'll give you enough analytical skills to become an equity/fixed income analyst down the road. Most bankers I know start their careers at small community banks, which are the ones I happen to visit more frequently, and move to larger banks later in their careers. You could also stay within community banks throughout your career and have a very decent salary if you ever reach an executive management position. On the other hand, if you want a equity/fixed income research role, you may want to start in that industry from the beginning. If you end up stuck too long in community banking, a transition may turn challenging. That's my two cents!Good luck with your job hunting!