Chicago VS. NYC, Professional life

[iliketrains]

Originally Posted by Dishwasher

They ARE a bunch of midwest transplant sports bar goers. Offices are closed completely on saturdays, and on weekdays the loop is dead by 6 pm.Honestly, I can honestly say that chicagoans do not work hard or are in a rat race. I worked and studied undergrad and grad school in the loop, so I feel I am qualified to say that. The people come in from the burbs, flood the city at 9 am, and leave at 5 pm, and no one is working on saturday.

I wouldn't say Chicagoans aren't hard workers or in a rat race, if I didn't know NYC so well and you threw me in the Loop and told me I was in Manhattan, I would believe you with all of the hussle and bussle.


I can see what you mean about the loop clearing out in the evening. In the financial district of Manhattan and Midtown, you see people in suits in all hours of the night. A friend of mine attends school in the Loop and when I was visiting, we had lunch in the Loop, it was packed and jammed. I met up with him after his classes at 7:30, the loop was Empty except for a few dinner goers, it was actually pretty creepy.

[Chicago60614]

I'm a transplant, moved to the city 9 years ago, and have been working in investment accounting/finance in the Loop for 8 years now.

I would say the general feeling of Chicago is that people work to live as opposed to living to work. At all jobs I've worked people get to work every morning, work hard, but then when 5pm comes - it's time to start living.

Especially during the nice months from May through October, 5pm comes and there's an evacuation from the Loop. Everyone I know that works decent finance or professional jobs downtown do NOT expect to be bothered between 5pm on Friday and 8:30am on Monday. We leave work on Friday and head right to a bar to start the weekend off with a bang.

That said though, it's certainly no slouch during the week. My office is pretty cutthroat, and it's certainly a rat race during the weekdays. It's just a good blend though, I get a decent salary of $70-$80K depending on bonuses, am expected to be completely devoted and know what's going on at the drop of a hat at work - but once leave work, I LEAVE work.

Of course there are busy periods or special projects that will bring you into work, and that's completely expected. I've been working 10 hour days, working Saturdays and not even thinking twice about it for the past 3 weeks. Come July though, I will easily just take off at 3 or 4pm and not think anything of it. The good thing I've noticed about every job I've had (which works out well since accounting is normally busy during year-end) is that cold winter months seem to be the hussled time when you work a lot of overtime and really earn your keep. Then summer comes and it's all casual dress, half-day Fridays and lots of freebie days off work. That's been pretty universal everywhere I've been.

I don't know if half-day Fridays are common everywhere during the summer, but they've been a mainstay at every job I've had in Chicago.

[coldwine]

Oh, if I had to do it all over again, I'd never go to NYC. I don't even like being there physically. It was just the next natural step a child from a top educational facility was supposed to take, and I did.

But in retrospect, hell no. New York is concrete cancer. There are better places out there-- Chicago is one-- where you can get an urban vibe without New Yorkers.

[iliketrains]

This all sounds good and like a good compromise for me. I grew up in the NYC suburbs and moved to Portland for college and always saw myself liking NYC. While there are many things to enjoy in the city, outside of work, hobbies and life obligations, I have no time to enjoy NYC. Plus the older I get, the less I want to go out and drink. I pay $2000 a month for a tiny 1 bedroom, my friend is paying $1800 for an amazing 2 bedroom condo just north of Wrigleyville.

I like a job where I give it my all for 8-10 hours a day and go home. A productive/fast paced job gives me satisfaction and keeps me on my feet. I know overtime is normal and such but I want to work for a company that respects my life/work balance. The two NYC jobs I've had are national companies. My current company has a big office in San Francisco and one of the HR lady's came out to walk the field with me. She freaked the heck out when she saw how late we work, we don't take lunch and how I actually do a lot of paperwork during the weekend just for my own well being. I had to drop out of Master's program due to my job and I'm unable to make a consistent Doctor's appointment weekly. The sad thing is, my position is pretty close to entry-level. I should not be salaried, my job is to fix other's screw ups.

I guess I can say I did NYC and succeeded, that's something to hang on my trophy rack. I really wish Portland had a better job market, I miss my life there. I guess it's time to start one in Chicago.

[Dis99]

I am an engineer in the financial services industry. I am typically in the office at about 8AM-and I leave most days around 6PM (1 hour for lunch, sometimes at my desk). I typically work 1 Saturday a month, usually a half day.

I am also working on a Masters degree at night, and with my work schedule I have been able to take 1 or 2 classes a semester and have enough time between evenings/weekends to keep up with the work just fine. It's been slow going only attending part time, but I am almost done now.

So if you're looking to pursue an advanced degree that's another plus for Chicago.

[grapico]

Hrrm...

I'd still say Chicago professional life is a bit more stuffy and well, professional than the west coast (LA/SF/Seattle). Could be a good or bad thing depending on what you are looking for. You said you didn't like Portland and looking for a step up.

I'd say NYC is more cut throat and competitive rat race with people very concerned with their careers, but maybe less stuffy than Chicago actually...But probably at the expense of being more pretentious and less down to earth in that regard.

DC is the most conservative stuffy professional place I have observed.

If you wanted the Portland feel with a better job market I'd say the natural choice would be Seattle.

Originally Posted by iliketrains

I wouldn't have known this, it wasn't very obvious when I visited in September. A lot of the people just seemed like a bunch of sports-bar goers.

it really depends on where you are in the city... every neighborhood is different, they are like cities within the city. I think you will grow to like some neighborhoods and dislike others, only natural. Chicago if anything, is certainly not a monolithic place, many more scenes than say Portland.

I'm not really a fan of Lincoln Park/Gold Coast/East Lakeview/River North/Streetville/Wrigleyville/Old Town at all, others like it. I like the architecture and a few of the restaurants, but I wouldn't want to live there even if it means a shorter commute, just not my scene.

I prefer Wicker Park/Bucktown/Logan Square/Rogers Park/Ukrainian Village/Andersonville/Ravenswood/Pilsen/Uptown/Hyde Park.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by iliketrains

This sounds promising. I need to befriend these types of people to avoid become one of those “career minded” people. I was raised not to be like that. Both my parents were entrepreneurs, working about 70 hours a week but had a great social life and never taking themselves too seriously.


Anyone else have any suggestions? Thanks very much!

I haven't read the entire thread yet, but from what I have read I think you'll like Chicago a lot. I happen to be one of the "suits" that works for a financial company in the loop. My husband is a software engineer for a different software company also. I would say that about 50% of my friends are in the financial industry and the other 50% are spread over art, environmental science, biomedical engineering, urban planning, etc. When I leave work, that is it. The only time my job comes up is when I'm wishing I didn't have to go in the next day (because, let's face it, life outside of work is much more interesting!).

I live in Humboldt Park which is next to Bucktown/Wicker Park and Logan Square. There are definitely a lot of hipster type people in these neighborhoods, including Humboldt Park. But, at least based on my experience, in Chicago you don't need to have hipster friends to escape endless work chatter. I can count on my hands the number of times I've worked past 6:00 since I started my first professional job 7 years ago. And, believe it or not, I have progressed quite rapidly in my career, faster than all of my friends (shocks me too, trust me).

I think that if you're looking for a more entry level, professional job in an area like marketing, finance, insurance, whatever, that it certainly helps to have connections but is definitely not necessary. I didn't have any connections when I was in college/graduating, and I've done just fine. Smarts and hard work have been all it has taken. My parents did not go to college, so there were no hook ups from former roommates or friends or anything like that. While I know plenty of people who would write a recommendation or whatever, I still don't feel like I really have any "connections" to speak of.

I know exactly what you mean about people who are constantly at work and are obsessed with their jobs/careers. There are *some* people like that here, but all of those types that I have encountered work for one of the big 4 public accounting firms. I could not and will not live that kind of lifestyle. For me and everyone I'm friends with, our work is a source of income and some pride, but it's not what is really important at the end of the day. You'll fit in well in Chicago, I think.

[faintlyamused]

Originally Posted by iliketrains

I didn't know there were that many hipsters in Chicago? I'm a musician and artist, I'm not much of a hipster, I befriend a lot of them, so I would like for this type to be around. Are there an influx of hipsters and creative types moving to Chicago like Portland, Brooklyn and San Fran?

I read a really interesting article in New York Magazine about hipsters, and actually, the Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago is what some ethnographers consider to be the roots of the hipster subculture. Here's the article, if you're interested: What Was the Hipster? -- New York Magazine

Anyway, based on your posts, I also think Chicago would be a good fit for you, and it sounds like you would feel pretty comfortable in Wicker Park, Logan Square, Ukrainian Village, West Town, Pilsen, Avondale, or maybe even Uptown.

As far as professional opportunities, it might be worth looking into working at Groupon. I have two friends that were just hired there and they are expanding like crazy.

Jobs

As for the work/life balance, most everyone that I know in the city works a typical 8:30-5 existence.

hope this helps!