What's the main difference between being at a bulge bracket investment bank in NY and CHI?

Question

What's the main difference between being at a bulge bracket investment bank in NY and CHI? Skill level? Deal Size?

Answer 1

You won't see a huge gap in deal size - you'll probably work on more Midwestern companies in Chicago and more financial companies in NYC.  The city that you're in really doesn't say much about skill level - maybe a bit about personality, though (NYC can be crazy workaholic, while Chicago is just normal workaholic).

The big difference will be in compensation - you will make WAY more money in Chicago!  Your salary in NYC would probably look up to 20% better on paper, but as far as cost of living goes, people in Chicago can get almost twice what people in NYC can find.  For what you would pay for a 600 sqft studio apartment in the Upper East Side, you can get a 2 bedroom place in The Loop.