Well, it is almost time to start thinking about my *gasp* post college future. I am a Finance major here at school and I think I have finally found my niche. I am currently on my last co-op (we do 3, 6 month internships called co-ops) working for a community bank. I am working as a credit analyst in their commercial lending department. So far, I have learned a lot, although their is a ceiling due to the size of the loans that we work with. Unfortunately, I also learned about bank mergers. A week after I started, it was announced we would merge with a larger, regional bank. The closing date is about 4 months into my internship, but luckily, I will be able finish up and gain different experience working for a much larger bank.
Anyway, here is my dilema. I am not sure what to do once I graduate. I graduate in June 2005, so I have a while to go. I have already determined that I will not continue to live in Philadelphia unless I have a solid job offer here and no offers anywhere else.
I have been thinking of the Big 5 banking areas, and for some reason Atlanta keeps sticking out in my mind. I am going down in March to visit my family who lives in that area to get a good feel for the city. I visited over the summer for a day, as a part of my roadtrip. It was nowhere near enough time to gain a good idea of the city.
New York is another option, but very expensive. I would have to live in NJ most likely and commute which is not too bad, but I am not sure about NY.
I have been considering moving back to the D.C. area, but a. it is not a big banking area (or so I think) and b. I think I need to try more places before settling back to the area in which I grew up.
Also, I am not sure what I want to do. I am enjoying credit, but I think that I would like to eventually become a loan officer. I like the human interaction that is provided as a loan officer vs the more office oriented credit officer/underwriter.
Lastly, when is a good time to start applying for jobs? I was considering the Fall of 2004 but was not sure if that was too early.
Anyway, sorry this is so long, any advice is helpful. Thanks in advance.
